Sturgeon calls for ‘humane’ immigration system

The First Minister has called for a “humane immigration system'' to be established following the “appalling treatment'' of the so-called Windrush generation.

Nicola Sturgeon said the scandal, alongside a separate case involving a Belarusian woman threatened with deportation, highlighted the need for a system that “respects human dignity''.

Her comments came amid deepening anger at the UK Government's treatment of long-term British residents from the Windrush generation over their immigration status.

Individuals faced the threat of deportation and being denied access to healthcare due to UK paperwork issues and anomalies affecting some immigrants who arrived between the late 1940s and early 1970s.

Meanwhile Scottish ministers recently intervened in the case of Volha Merry, known as Olya, who is originally from Belarus but now lives in Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, with her husband Derek and their two-year-old daughter.

She faced separation from her family after the Home Office warned she could be deported back to Belarus if she does not leave the UK earlier this month.

A review of her case is being carried out following the political intervention, meaning a temporary stay on the deportation threat.

Ms Sturgeon told MSPs: “We will continue to make appropriate representations to give the Merry family the peace of mind they require around the right of Mrs Merry to live permanently in Coatbridge with her husband and her daughter.

“I think this case and the appalling treatment of the children of the Windrush generation that we have seen come to light this week, demonstrate perhaps more clearly than anything has previously that we urgently need across the whole of the UK a humane immigration system, not the hostile environment that Theresa May has been so keen to put in place.

“We need a system that respects human dignity, that recognises individual circumstances, and a system that isn't focused on arbitrarily cutting numbers and forcing people unjustly to leave the country that they have come to call home.'