Too many failed by UK’s authoritarian immigration system, Greens claim

Plans for a pilot scheme where asylum seekers would be given the right to work have been unveiled by the Scottish Greens, as the party hit out at Westminster’s “racist and authoritarian” immigration system.

Scottish Green co-leader Gillian Mackay insisted people coming to Scotland from overseas had “enriched our communities, strengthened our economy and shaped our culture in ways that are impossible to measure”.

The Green politician declared: “Scotland would not be the nation it is today without the people who have chosen to make their lives here.”

She said the Scottish Greens would seek to use Holyrood’s devolved powers to ensure everyone in Scotland can access essential services, regardless of their immigration status.

Ms Mackay added that as well as piloting a scheme allowing asylum seekers to work, the Greens would roll out employability initiatives for “new Scots” and would also look to end the use of “unsuitable” accommodation for asylum seekers – such as hotels or former military barracks.

With protests having taken place outside hotels used to house asylum seekers, the Green vowed her party would stand against the “rise of the far right, rejecting their poisonous rhetoric”.

Ms Mackay spoke out on the issue ahead of the Holyrood election on May 7, with the Scottish Green co-leader also making clear her party wants to see immigration powers devolved away from Westminster.

She insisted: “Right now, far too many new Scots are being failed and targeted by a racist and authoritarian immigration system that is designed to punish and scapegoat them, actively making their lives harder.”

Hitting out at the UK Government, Ms Mackay stated: “Like the Tories before them, Labour is forcing people into impossible situations, denying access to housing, work and even basic services.

“It pushes people into avoidable poverty by design, and creates a climate of fear and hate that damages our social fabric.

“That is not who we are in Scotland, and it is not the kind of country we should ever have to accept.”

Pledging that a vote for the Scottish Greens next month would be “a vote to end the hostile environment for new Scots, and to give Scotland a choice on its future”, Ms Mackay stated: “If we want Scotland to set the migration policy that best works for us and our values, then we must bring those powers fully to the Scottish Parliament, through independence.”

The UK Government has been contacted for comment.