Labour Councillors in Hounslow have joined with 200 local councillors from across the country in standing against the Illegal Migration Bill. 

Suella Braverman, the Home Secretary, put forward the Illegal Migration Bill which looks to stop people crossing the English Channel in small boats and will be debated in the House of Commons on Wednesday. 

Labour councillors from across the country, including those from Labour, have signed an open letter in opposition to the passing of this bill. 

Lara Parizotto, Brentford West councillor and chair of the Children and Young People Overview and Scrutiny panel said: "Our Children and Young people panel assessed how our local authority can best support children in our care from migrant backgrounds.  

"It's heart-warming to see that many children in our care who arrived in the UK unaccompanied fleeing violence and poverty are thriving with the right support in place.  

"However, it's been equally heart-breaking hearing from officers and local charities that unaccompanied children are being identified in hotels, following the Home Office's careless age assessment.  

"We stand against proposals to detain children. Rather than paying private companies to poorly house people, we want local authorities to be given the capacity to cooperate and care for children needing our care."  

"Hounslow is an incredibly diverse community and is proud to be so. The Home Office wants to foster division and hatred, but we pledge to work tirelessly for the good of all our communities, to ensure that all our residents can live safely and with dignity." 

Hounslow is currently home to over 3,000 asylum seekers from over 80 nationalities and over 100 children from sanctuary backgrounds are currently in the care of Hounslow. 

Refugee Welcome Hounslow said: "Refugees Welcome Hounslow has worked directly with refugees and asylum seekers at the grassroots level since 2017.  

"What we see, tells us that the proposed bill would be a disaster for local communities aiming to fulfil the wishes of residents.  

"We see, on a weekly basis, inefficiently organised accommodation that is unfit — unhealthy and undignified, and we see vulnerable people not cared for within the community.  

"We do not agree that proposals to isolate and ostracise asylum seekers in remote holding areas will produce beneficial results for communities, nor for asylum seekers.  

"Residents wish for the community to welcome those in need, and ensure that they transition swiftly and happily to feeling safe, secure, and able to contribute to the flourishing of our neighbourhoods.  

"The tax-paying public also expect solutions to be financially prudent and just. The current approach seems to fail on this prudence, as does the proposed bill."