Far-right, anti-immigration protesters have started attacking the hotels housing asylum seekers in the UK as tensions over small boat crossings and immigration have grown.
On August 4, roughly 700 people gathered outside the Holiday Inn Express in Rotherham, United Kingdom. A few protestors threw chairs, bottles, and wood pieces at law enforcement officers while shouting, “Get them out.” They called for the immigrants who are stayed at the hotel which has been used for years by the British government to house asylum seekers trapped in administrative limbo. The Rotherham riot was one of the more than a dozen demonstrations that transpired after a stabbing attack that claimed the lives of three children.
“We experienced this abuse frequently,” one of the hotel resident claimed. “We were instructed not to leave the hotel and to avoid the windows prior to the weekend. When they entered the hotel by breaking through the gate, it was horrifying. Several of them threatened to kill us, and they did a great deal of damage. We’ve relocated to a safer location, which I appreciate” he added.
Later on Sunday, Staffordshire Police said that a hotel near Birmingham, the town of Tamworth which was known to have sheltered asylum seekers, was also targeted.
Why Asylum Seekers were Accommodated in Hotels?
The Immigration and Asylum Act (1999) in the UK stipulated that housing asylum seekers in local communities was the responsibility of local authorities.
Threats from the outside are not the only thing that affect guests staying in hotels and other temporary housing, like converted army barracks.
The condition of the housing also played a role in the development of physical and mental health issues, including overcrowding, hygienic issues and disease outbreaks, and limited access to food and medical care.
Living in hotels and former army barracks, asylum seekers had high rates of gastrointestinal issues and suicidal thoughts, according to Doctors of the World. Current regulations prevent the majority of asylum seekers from working or attending school, which can make these issues worse. Young asylum seekers frequently have no play areas and are confined to their rooms. Additionally, it is known that more than a hundred kids from asylum hotels are missing right now.
In March 2024, over 35,000 people stayed in 267 hotels, down from a peak of 56,000 people in approximately 400 hotels in September 2023, according to a Home Office statistic. London has the most hotels in use (86), followed by the West Midlands (42), and south-east England (50).
The time it takes to process a claim determines how long a person stays in asylum housing. 78,907 asylum seekers were still waiting on the outcome of their application as of the end of March 2024.
Community housing is an additional type of institutional housing. It usually refers to shared apartments or homes run by lodging establishments, but it’s also rare. Nonetheless, compared to hotels and other institutional housing options like the Bibby Stockholm barge, it is far less expensive.
From £134 per person per night in April 2023 to £148 in January 2024, hotel prices have changed. By requiring up to four people to share a room, the Home Office has tried to cut down on the number of hotels and their prices.
The few private sector businesses given government contracts to manage this lodging have made record profits in spite of the subpar conditions. To house asylum seekers, Clearsprings Ready Homes was awarded a 10-year Home Office contract. The company receives £3.5 million every day to handle and relocate newcomers to the UK.