I came to the United Kingdom as a survivor of modern slavery and later as a refugee. I came with fear, trauma, and hope that this country—and a Labour government—would protect people like me. Today, I am angry, disappointed, and alarmed by the direction Labour is taking on immigration.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has promised that Labour will “significantly” reduce migration and has declared that “every area of the immigration system—work, family and study—will be tightened up so we have more control.” He warned that without stricter rules, Britain could become “an island of strangers, not a nation that walks forward together.”
As a survivor and refugee, those words do not sound like solidarity. They sound like fear politics. They sound like migrants being framed as a threat to social cohesion rather than human beings seeking safety and dignity.
Labour’s policy plans go further. The government intends to raise skill thresholds to graduate level, extend the route to settlement from five years to ten, tighten English language requirements, and end overseas recruitment in sectors like social care. These are not neutral reforms. They are barriers designed to make migration harder, slower, and more precarious.
I know what precarious status feels like. My visa was once tied to my employer. That system kept me silent, trapped, and terrified. It is how exploitation and modern slavery continue to exist in the UK. Yet Labour has not dismantled this system. Instead, it is doubling down on policies that increase dependence on employers and reduce security for migrants.
Labour says these policies are about fairness and protecting British workers. But Prime Minister Starmer has also said that “uncontrolled, mass immigration is damaging to social cohesion” and that the system must work in the “national interest” by stopping “the wrong people from coming here.” https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/pm-remarks-at-immigration-white-paper-press-conference-12-may-2025?
Who are the “wrong people”? Survivors? Refugees? Domestic workers? Women fleeing abuse? People escaping poverty and trafficking?
This language is not neutral. It legitimises hostility. It echoes the rhetoric of governments that treated migrants as disposable labour and political scapegoats. It makes people like me feel unwelcome in a country we help sustain.
Labour has also argued that immigration should fall and promised, “Now make no mistake, this plan means migration will fall. That’s a promise.” Keir Starmer vows to end ‘open borders experiment’ with immigration crackdown - Politics.co.uk
This obsession with numbers ignores the human cost. It ignores the women trapped in abusive households, the carers propping up the care system, and the refugees fleeing violence.
As a refugee, I know that migration is not always about choice. Sometimes it is about survival. Sometimes it is about escaping modern slavery, war, or exploitation. Reducing migration without expanding protection does not create fairness—it creates desperation and risk.
Labour claims to be the party of workers, yet migrant workers remain among the most exploited in the UK. Labour claims to defend human rights, yet it refuses to guarantee secure status independent of employers. Labour claims to stand for solidarity, yet it is afraid to challenge anti-migrant narratives and instead competes with the right on toughness.
This is not progressive politics. This is fear-driven triangulation.
I became an activist because I refused to stay silent. But many migrants cannot speak. They are afraid of losing their visas, their jobs, their homes. A Labour government that truly cared about survivors would untie visas from employers, guarantee safe reporting mechanisms, and create real pathways to settlement. Instead, we get longer waits, higher thresholds, and speeches about control.
Immigration policy is not just about borders and numbers. It is about who deserves safety, dignity, and belonging. As a survivor and refugee, I am telling Labour clearly: your words and policies matter. If you continue down this path, you will betray the very principles you claim to represent.
Justice should not depend on a passport.
Safety should not depend on an employer.
And dignity should never be sacrificed for political strategy.
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