Ahead of expected racist targeting of immigration law firms and others offering support services to refugees and migrants, Steve Valdez-Symonds, Amnesty International UK’s Refugee and Migrant Rights Director, said: 

“Targeting immigration services and their providers and users is the latest appalling development of the racist hate and violence that has erupted over these last few days. Access to legal and support services, and the freedom to deliver these are vital to safeguarding our basic rights. 

“These are not the first incidents of violence towards immigration lawyers and people seeking asylum in recent years. Decades of anti-migrant rhetoric have created an environment in which racist vitriol, fake news, bigotry and violence all thrive. Serious reflection is now urgently required from political leaders and commentators regarding the language they use and the policies they promote.  

“We need a fresh start, underpinned by basic human rights and a renewed determination to avoid the routine dehumanisation in so much recent public and political discourse.”