The UK government now intends to become the legal parent of unaccompanied child migrants who arrive in the country.
According to The Times, Britain’s Home Office is set to become the corporate parent of thousands of migrants described as children.
The move is reportedly part of the UK’s latest legal bill aimed at bringing the ongoing Channel migrant crisis under control, with previous legal efforts having failed.
Reports reveal that the government now wants to clarify the legal status of migrants defined as unaccompanied children who land in Britain, with officials having decided to make Britain’s Home Office their corporate parents in the hopes of streamlining efforts to take care of the children.
Many ostensibly child-aged migrants are currently being held in hotels while waiting for spaces in local government-run children’s facilities to open up. Under the current system, those awaiting transfer are left in legal limbo, with it ultimately unclear who is legally responsible for their well-being.
Such a situation is exacerbated by the rate at which these alleged children go missing, with The Times reporting that one in every ten migrants recorded as being unaccompanied minors goes missing at some point while in the care of the UK.
Despite this atrocious record, an official from the Home Office has sworn that the safety of the alleged children is its “absolute priority”, and that “safeguarding and welfare measures” are in place in facilities where migrant children are being held despite the large number of minors that end up going missing.