Home Office ignored equality law in treatment of Windrush generation under ‘hostile environment’, says EHRC Watchdog says officials repeatedly dismissed warnings that policy could have negative impact on Windrush generation The Home Office ignored equality law in its treatment of the Windrush generation under Theresa May’s “hostile environment”, leading to serious injustices, a watchdog has found.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said the Home Office failed to comply with its duty on equality in the way it developed, implemented and monitored its “hostile environment” policy, and particularly in relation to black members of the Windrush generation and in a manner that it is unlikely they would have treated white members of the community.
The EHRC said officials repeatedly ignored or dismissed warnings that the policy to create a “hostile environment” for illegal migrants could have a negative impact on the Windrush generation, many of whom came to the UK as children and were threatened with deportation.
The watchdog criticised the “limited engagement” by the Home Office with representatives of the Windrush generation, even as the severe effects of “hostile environment” policies began to emerge.
It said too little effort was made to ensure equality of treatment for the Windrush residents, which meant their rights to be exempt from the immigration rules were “interpreted incorrectly or inconsistently”.
