Gay refugee who held Nigeria’s first Pride slams UK’s suspension of family reunification policy

A gay refugee who fled to the UK from Nigeria after holding the country’s first Pride celebration has slammed the government’s changes to rules which allow refugees to apply for their family members to join them.

On Monday (1 September), home secretary Yvette Cooper announced that the government would temporarily suspend new applications to its refugee family reunification scheme which allows those granted asylum to bring their family to the UK with “no conditions”.

Refugees will henceforth face the same restrictions on bringing family to the UK as other migrants do, which namely includes earning at least £29,000 a year and being able provide suitable accommodation for relatives, as well as the family members in question having a basic level of English.

The move came as the government was facing increasing criticism and protests over the use of hotels to house those seeking asylum. According to data obtained by the BBC, police forces across the country were notified of 3,081 protests between the start of June and 25 August, a huge increase compared with 2,942 protests last summer and 928 in 2023.

Speaking on the day parliament returned, Cooper said the rules were “designed many years ago to help families separated by war, conflict and persecution” but “the way they are being used now has changed”.

“Even just before the pandemic, refugees who applied to bring family to the UK did so on average more than one or one years after they were granted protection. Long enough for them to get jobs, find housing and be able to provide their family with some support,” Cooper said.   

“Here in the UK now however those applications now come in on average within one month, even before a newly granted refugee has left asylum accommodation. As a consequence, refugee families who arrive are far more likely to seek homelessness assistance.  

“Some councils are finding that more than a quarter of their family homelessness applications are linked to refugee family reunion. That is not sustainable. ”

The home secretary added the ‘no conditions’ element of family reunionifcation is “not fair” and that “reforms are needed”.

Speaking to ITV about the changes, LGBTQ+ refugee condemned the suspension of the scheme and said he is “absolutely” worried about the welfare of his family back in Nigeria, as well as other families in similar situations.

Mordi described the west African nation as “not a safe place for people like myself” and recounted how his family members have been attacked with acid and his brother “beaten to a pulp” since he fled.

“My heart shattered into a million pieces and I am still picking myself up. I haven’t had it easy myself but I’ve put my situation to be back because my family are still in immediate danger. That is deeply concerning to say the least,” Mordi said.

“It’s the worst that anyone could do and that is how deeply rooted hate goes,” he stated, adding the violence has had a “devastating impact”.

“I think people like Yvette Cooper, well-meaning maybe, they do not know what they are costing people like myself.”

In response to the government’s announcement, shadow home secretary Chris Philp said “tweaking the family reunion rules is not enough” to bring down immigration figures.

“Things are not getting any better, they are getting worse,” he said.