The lead for migrants and refugees for the bishops of England and Wales has called for action to address poor conditions at the Manston migrant centre in Kent, where nearly 4,000 people are being held while they wait for a response to their asylum claims.
Bishop Paul McAleenan, an auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of Westminster who speaks for the bishops’ conference on migrant issues, said on Wednesday that reports of overcrowding and dangerous conditions “are worrying and must be addressed as a matter of urgency”.
He emphasised that those held at Manston “like all others who have found their way here are human beings, made in the image of God”.
“Regardless of how or why people have made the journey here, they must be treated with dignity and respect,” he said.
Large numbers of migrants crossing the Channel in recent months, sometimes nearly 1,000 in a day, have placed ever greater pressure on the asylum system in Kent, creating a “critical” situation according to local authorities who wrote to the home secretary Suella Braverman yesterday demanding action to relieve the county.
They reported that those held at Manston remained segregated in marquees as the weather worsened and that some had been sleeping on roll mats for more than a month.
They also warned of “tensions growing and concern about the potential for disorder” as well as far-right activity, referring to a petrol bomb attack on a migrant facility in Dover on Sunday. A man threw incendiary devices which caused minor injuries to two people and damage to the centre, before killing himself at a petrol station.
Bishop McAleenan said it was “imperative that everyone refrains from inflammatory language that undermines people’s humanity and creates tensions between communities”. Mrs Braverman faced criticism this week – including from fellow ministers – for describing the scale of illegal immigration as an “invasion” of southern England.
In addition, Bishop McAleenan called for action to address the fundamental causes of migration:
“As well as the right to migrate, Catholic Social Teaching also speaks of the right not to migrate. Often this is overlooked.
“Our politicians, recognising the global phenomenon of migration, must work with others in the international community to help create conditions that will eliminate the conflict, poverty and suffering that forces people to leave their own homelands in the first place and undertake dangerous journeys in search of a better life.”