Green Party candidate for Mayor of London Sian Berry has ruled out City Hall collaboration with immigration enforcement authorities if elected in May.

No services under the Mayor’s remit, including homelessness services, would share any data of migrant service users with the Home Office for any purposes of immigration enforcement.

From December 1st, new immigration rules have come into effect, which state that permission to stay in the UK could be withheld or revoked from rough sleepers found to be migrants, with deportation a possible consequence.

The majority of migrant rough sleepers are to be found in London – with approximately half of the capital’s estimated 10,000 annual rough sleepers believed to be non-UK nationals. Sian has challenged previous enforcement measures against migrants who are rough sleeping in her work on the London Assembly.

As Mayor, Sian will campaign to end immigration enforcement measures in other services, such as education, healthcare and discriminatory ‘Right to Rent’ policies aimed at turning landlords into immigration officers and denying people their right to a home.

This pledge will be part of Sian’s upcoming manifesto as Green Party candidate for Mayor of London, which will contain a package of policies designed to make London an anti-racist city.

Sian Berry AM said:

“As Mayor, I will work with Londoners to build an anti-racist city, where every single Londoner is at home and valued. Where City Hall uses every tool it can to fight the racism and bias, which scars too many lives, and is built into too many policies coming from our current Government.

“Hostile environment policies have tried to turn all of us into immigration officers, and forced public servants, homeless outreach workers and landlords to hand over private data on our fellow citizens, but I can’t accept becoming a tool of any racist Home Office agenda if I am elected.

“London is a proudly diverse and welcoming city for all people, and I will call out and stand against racist policies wherever I find them.”

Green Party Assembly member candidate Benali Hamdache said:

“As a person of colour living in London, I see two sides to this city. One which is open, inclusive and one of the most proudly diverse cities on earth. But there’s also bigotry, institutional racism, and discriminatory policing.

“Greens have always led the way in standing up for refugee and migrant rights. We’ll keep fighting this Government’s racist policies which divide our capital”