Government putting asylum seekers in student accomodation

[rriffraff]

There is an article saying that the University of Leeds in Headingly is being used to house asylum seekers, I don't know if there are any further plans elsewhere.
It seems to me inappropriate to use student accomodation, I hope it will not be rolled out to other Uni's.

Fury in leafy suburb over plans to turn student halls into migrant accommodation

Then why is the fact that Uk men rape even relevant?

Thanks, OP, for bringing this discourse to the HE board- a place I thought was maybe subject to a bit of fiery debate around RG and admissions policies but otherwise safe and supportive. Why are you trying to stoke fear and division on this forum?

FWIW the Red Road flats in Glasgow years ago were used for students and then for refugees and asylum seekers. Change of use is common.

And for the PP who said asylum seeker should be in 'basic' accommodation - you clearly haven't seen a lot of student accommodation...

RAF bases seem the most sensible solution to me.

Same in my city, about 6 huge blocks have gone up in the last couple of years near me. The latest completely overshadows my road. I suspect most of them are not full. So might as well be used.

Germany are now turning away anyone without papers, it’s a very recent change. No idea why the UK can’t do this

Really? No idea? I’m not sure what you’re suggesting practically here - Germany is turning them away at a land border, so they never leave the country they are in. Are you saying we return anyone without documentation to France? Why would France agree to this? Would we agree if people were traveling across the channel in the opposite direction? Or are you suggesting we do it without their agreement, just take some boats to Calais and sneak them back in?

There are tens of thousands of student bedrooms in Leeds. We have 3 universities, several colleges and a huge student population. Leeds has a very diverse population enriched (in the whole...) by the influx of students every year - whose overseas numbers have been decimated post-brexit.

One student property hosting less than 250 migrants isn't going to make a dent in the student provision.

And they're hardly going to be making any more trouble than dickheads on the Otley run....

Or the male history students at Warwick a few years ago. Or the Frat gang rapists.

@oviraptor21 Can’t see that going down well near us. Tory area and we’ve a huge RAF training base that was meant to close in 2022. Still open but is still meant to close soon. Interesting times ahead.

Yes, that's a thing. Let's just assume the people who 'want' asylum seekers in army bases actually don't want them anywhere...

Is it Wivelsfield that has been campaigning against an army barracks being used for ages? Mainly for very sound reasons.

Apols - Wethersfield..

Active Military bases ? Why TF not open them up to AirBnB, if you want lots of people there with unclear histories who have had to make desperate decisions and would do so again taking huge risks and have NO Security clearance and are bored witless. Gee, that's a grand plan.... #Sarcasm

People don't want them full stop. Hotels, student areas, near schools.

Before Brexit we had the legal right to return asylum seekers to the last safe couhtry they travelled through. We withdrew from that agreement.

Asylum seekers are able to enter the country however they want under refugee law.

Whilst they are being processed the government have a legal responsibility to provide living accommodation and basic essentials despite what the likes of Farage and Lowe would like people to believe.

Also detention centres would cost a fortune even Lowe suggests something 40+bn a year. Who will pay for these?

I suspect these ideas make sense. Young people tend to be tolerant of people who are different and as university towns will have lots of international students it will be easier for them to blend in.

Farage and people like Lowe's ideas sounds like Brexit all over again.

Simple solutions to complex problems which won't work when put to the test.

I reckon they’d be welcome relief from the Otley runners.

We do need to do something about the number of migrants & vet who is coming into the country. But I never want to lose the humanity of being a place of refuge for those seeking asylum.

there needs to be a safe route for people fleeing war, persecution & hate & we need safe, habitable places for these people to stay whilst they are being vetted.

Isn’t that the issue, there are not actually ‘asylum seekers’ they are economic migrants.

No they are asylum seekers waiting for their applications to be processed.

If their claims are found to be not genuine then they can be detained and deported or what tends to happen all support is stopped and the hope is they leave on their own accord.

Illegal economic migrants aren't entitled to support.

Illegal economic migrants aren't entitled to support.

They are until their false asylum claim is rejected.

But we can’t know who is false & who is genuine until they have been investigated. So for the sake of being humane we have to treat everyone decently.

Yes which is why they should be in secure accommodation.

They have already undergone basic screening at this point. We really don’t want to hark back to the 1930s surely.

No they haven’t. What screening do you think that is? It is not the ‘1930s’ to detain people wishing to enter the country until we have ascertained whether they have a right to be here. We do it everyday at airports and ports. The only difference is the speed of return.

Who mentioned ‘uk men rape’ - not me.

I talked about the rise in harmful sexual behaviour in schools ( including in areas with very low immigration) and said it was a societal isuue in the UK (not linked to immigration).

When someone registers an asylum claim they have to attend an initial screening interview where they are fingerprinted & documentaion checked. They are then given an application registration card.

there may then be a wait of a few weeks before their main in depth interview & a further wait which can be a long time (too long) for a decision.

Or the Bullingdon Club, rich entitled yobs smashing up restaurants, then flashing the cash. Past members including David Cameron, Boris Johnson and George Osbourne, all fine upstanding members of society (not). If I and my friends had behaved like that we would have been arrested, charged with criminal damage and would now have criminal records, but when daddy's rich anything goes.