Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Friday, Oct 03, 2025

UK immigration law hoards the spoils of colonialism

UK immigration law hoards the spoils of colonialism

Britain enriched itself by exploiting other countries and their people, called them part of the British Empire, and now it’s shutting its doors and treating them like criminals.
On the 13th of May 2021, we saw the home office attempt to detain and deport two men of Indian origin in a dawn raid in Glasgow. After a successful protest by their neighbours, Lakhvir Singh and Sumit Sehdev were released, but branded criminals by the Home Office who vowed to deport them.

Beyond the fact that the men have lived in Scotland for more than ten years and have established their lives in Britain, there is another, less talked about reason, why Britain owes those men at the very least, a life free from state-sanctioned harassment. That is, the legacy of the British Empire and its impact, which is being felt today and will be for centuries to come, by people from its former colonies.

Today, the majority of asylum seekers originate from countries that until 30-60 years ago were under colonial rule, writes Lucy Mayblin in her book Asylum After Empire. Refugees coming across the English Channel are mainly from Yemen, Eritrea, Chad, Egypt, Sudan, and Iraq – all former British and French colonies.

The coercive takeover of countries that formed the British Empire sewed chaos. Culture, rituals, and existing economies were destroyed. Over time things would get more complex, and even as many countries became independent, the seeds for conflict and poverty had been planted. Eventually, people from those countries would be desperate enough to make life-threatening journeys across land and sea to peaceful parts of the world.

The effects of colonialism are complex and varied, but the patterns of poverty and conflict in countries in the wake of empire are undeniable. In South Africa where I’m from it will take hundreds of years for new, non-violent ways of life to materialise. The country’s not at war like some of Europe’s other conquests, but with a murder rate of around 57 people per day, violence is part of people’s everyday life.

The New Plan for Immigration, introduced by the Home Secretary on 24th of March 2021, keeps migrants from colonial countries, who aren’t affluent or skilled in specific ways, from entering the UK at all – whether that’s to seek asylum, or just to visit a family member. It criminalises asylum seekers based on how they get to the UK, whether their claims are legitimate or not, and puts people like Sumit Sehdev and Lakhvir Singh from Kenmure Street in a constant state of uncertainty and mental distress. Not to mention the devastating effects it’s having on the lives of British-born people.

Brexit was decided based on the idea that immigrants come to the UK to take jobs and resources. Home Secretary, Priti Patel calls immigration unfair to people whose taxes fund public services, without considering at all, the fact that fortunes made from slavery and empire, paid for that infrastructure and paved the way to modern Britain.

These were the same ideas that gave rise to the legislative walls of Apartheid in South Africa. The UK’s immigration policies are no different. They work to restrict access to wealth, more often than not, from people whose countries have been destroyed by colonialism. Migration and refugee law specialist Nadine El-Enany calls immigration law, whether in the form of the hostile environment, visa requirements or other external border controls, an ongoing expression of empire, “part of an attempt to control access to the spoils of empire which are located in Britain.”

Brits that support tighter and tighter immigration laws have no idea the benefits they’ve received from the exploitation of colonial resources that would have otherwise improved the quality of life for Indian-born people like Sumit Sehdev and Lakhvir Singh of Kenmure Street.

Countries that have been, and continue to enrich themselves from colonial relationships, need to remember where their fortunes came from – and why a hospitable environment for people who come from countries devastated in the wake of colonialism, is the least they can do.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Trump Backs Putin’s Land-for-Peace Proposal Amid Kyiv’s Rejection
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
United States Sells Luxury Yacht Amadea, Valued at Approximately $325 Million, in First Sale of a Seized Russian Yacht Since the Invasion of Ukraine
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
×