A quarter of migrants working in the cultural sector, including galleries and theatres, have considered leaving the UK as a consequence of “hostile environment” immigration policies, a report has found.
Support network Migrants In Culture has published the findings of a survey examining the impact of the “hostile environment” on people working within the cultural sector.
Of 614 respondents, 25 per cent indicated that they have considered leaving the UK as a result of the way that the measures have affected their work or study.
90 per cent indicated that they are feeling fearful or angry about the policies, and 79 per cent also felt unsupported by their places of work or study.
“The hostile environment creates a culture of fear and distrust, and impacts anyone deemed to look ‘foreign’,” the report reads.
“The policy forces landlords, banks, hospitals and employers including universities and cultural institutions to act as proxy border agents in their daily interactions with their patients, tenants, staff and students.”
Introduced in 2012 by former Prime Minister Theresa May – who was the Home Secretary at the time – the hostile environment is a set of administrative and legislative measures, intended to make life in the UK as difficult as possible for people without leave to remain.
In so doing, the then government hoped that they would leave “voluntarily.”
Migrants in Culture is hosting a summit in order to set out its next steps in resisting the policies – more information is available at their website.
Featured image credit: Flickr.
