Following bad publicity around child refugees in conservative-supporting newspapers, and Theresa May’s decision, according to the ‘Dubs amendment’ only 350 unaccompanied children will be taken from this month. Charity representatives said that this provides a profit opportunity (between £8.7m and £20.3m) to smugglers.
People traffickers make between £2bn and £4bn, just like those trafficking illegal drugs. On-the-ground research showed that guaranteed transfer costs refugees an average of £3,000.
George Gabriel, project lead for Safe Passage UK claims that it was a ‘very poor decision’. The death of four children trying to come to Britain was also mentioned, as was the fact that the new policy confuses children.
May’s decision is considered a ‘shabby cop-out’. According to Martha Mackenzie, deputy head of government relations at Save the Children, children leave the refugee center to take their life into their own hands. Lily Caprani, Unicef’s executive deputy director, called attention to the fact that there are thousands of unaccompanied children in Europe and that the system is overwhelmed even without a cut-off. Furthermore, many others remain outside the system and cannot be protected. The risk of sex trafficking and police violence were also mentioned.
Lord Dubs, after whom the amendment was named, said that the Government had no right to abandon these children.
Thanks to the scheme, 200 children have been relocated in the UK so far, and 150 more are expected before the end of 2017.
Home Secretary Amber Rudd claimed that the government is against incentivizing dangerous journeys, and in this regard, early closure can be positive.