Recently in the United Kingdom, an asylum claimant named Abdul Ezedi threw a corrosive substance over a woman, leaving her with life-changing injuries. Ezedi, who had arrived illegally in the back of a lorry in 2016, had been denied asylum twice. In 2018, he was given only a suspended sentence after being convicted of sexual assault. Finally, in 2020 he was granted asylum to protect him from prosecution after he claimed to have converted to Christianity.
How was a man who had been convicted of sexual assault and denied asylum twice able to remain in the UK?
For over a year, Ezedi had been provided food and housing by the Action Foundation, a “charitable” organization for refugees and asylum seekers who have been refused asylum and denied access to government support. Many such organizations exist, and at first glance it may seem improper as a libertarian to chastise a charity for pursuing a voluntary purpose.
However, upon closer inspection it becomes apparent that these organizations, and the Action Foundation in particular, are effectively an arm of the state. For example, the Action Foundation has received over £800,000 in government grants over four years and over £550,000 in government contracts over five years. The taxpayer has been directly forced to support the lifestyle of a man convicted of sexual assault.
Furthermore, the Action Foundation is part of the Justice Together initiative which provides legal representation to enable people to gain asylum. This makes it harder for the state to deport asylum seekers, even if they have committed violent crimes, and undoubtedly help these men find a way to claim asylum. A common method is to claim asylum on the basis of converting to Christianity, as Abdul Ezedi had done to stay in the country.
The number of young men coming to the UK claiming asylum despite questionable reasoning continues to soar at the expense of the British taxpayer. While the millions of pounds a day the government spends on hotels to house them is often discussed, an underdiscussed aspect is the government funding of these activist organizations.
Alongside promoting other radical leftist movements from race politics to transgender ideology, the current illegal immigrant crisis has been exacerbated by radical leftist state-funded organizations. These activist organizations have been enabled to masquerade as charities, providing them with tax breaks and generous grants, through the Charities Act 2011 which redefined “charitable purposes” to include “the advancement of human rights, conflict resolution or reconciliation or the promotion of religious or racial harmony or equality and diversity.”
Recently 265 charities, largely focused on refugees and migrants, have lobbied the government’s policy to control illegal immigration through the Rwanda bill. These organizations have received £209 million in government grants and contracts since 2020. One prominent organization by the name of Freedom from Torture has received over £600,000 in government grants since 2020, including hundreds of thousands from the Ministry of Justice. The group works as an activist organization, declaring that it “WILL KEEP FIGHTING” against the Rwanda bill. The taxpayer is funding these unelected, unaccountable organizations to work against their interests and arguably have a bigger influence in government policy than the taxpayer themselves.
Illegal immigration is one of the biggest concerns of the British public. Over one hundred thousand people have come to the UK through channel crossings since 2020. This isn’t a grassroots organic movement where young men are fighting against the state to secure the freedom to immigrate where they please. The state has played a crucial role in empowering and funding activist organizations to encourage the mass migration of men to journey across the channel, rip up their passports, and claim asylum, regardless of whether they actually have a genuine case.
Even though public opinion is in favor of stopping illegal immigration, the ruling classes strongly resist their demands. Despite their strong rhetoric, the Conservative government is consistently seen as powerless when it comes to enacting policies to stop the channel crossings. As shown by Abdul Ezedi being able to stay in the UK despite being denied asylum twice and being convicted of sex offenses, the emperor has no clothes.
Regardless of how much the Conservative party claims to want to “stop the boats” and prevent illegal immigration, the reality is that the British state consistently dedicates millions of pounds in taxpayer money every year to organizations with a mission to house these migrants and fight against their deportations.
If the British government is serious about stopping the boats, then a step in the right direction would be to stop funding organizations actively fighting against their goals. It is important to recognize that the government has played a significant part in empowering these radical leftist movements through these trojan horse organizations.
