"These proposals are a wrecking ball to the right to claim asylum in the UK... the biggest attack on the right to claim asylum that we've ever seen and will close the door to desperate people who arrive in the UK to seek safety... these are hard-hearted and cruel proposals. There is nothing 'fair' about them."
Refugee Action
“We should not judge how worthy someone is of asylum by how they arrived here. The proposals effectively create an unfair two-tiered system, whereby someone’s case and the support they receive is judged on how they entered the country and not on their need for protection. This is inhumane.”
Mike Adamson
CEO, British Red Cross
“We fear these plans will do next to nothing to stop people making dangerous crossings, and risk withdrawing support from desperate people, such as victims of human trafficking.”
Nick Thomas-Symonds
Shadow home secretary
"Priti Patel's plans for our asylum system are cruel, unworkable & unjustified. She's using vulnerable people for political point-scoring - and lives will be put at risk."
Freedom From Torture
"We are deeply concerned by the immigration proposals outlined by the Home Secretary... We therefore urge [her] to rethink these proposals."
Jubilee+ Refugee Network
"The UK government’s planned overhaul of asylum policy is based on a series of 'completely unfounded' claims, according to a group of more than 450 immigration experts."
Independent newspaper
"The government’s new plan for immigration is cruel, misleading and will destroy lives. Protecting people fleeing war and persecution must come first."
Choose Love
"That goes against our country’s values and it goes against basic human decency. No humane government would propose shipping off refugees to third countries or creating Orwellian offshore processing facilities."
Alistair Carmichael, MP
(LibDem, Orkney and Shetland)
"Anyone seeking asylum should be able to claim in their intended destination or another safe country. Some claimants have very legitimate reasons to seek protection in specific countries, including family or other links."
UNHCR
" 'Fairness’ means... not using half-truths and twisted rhetoric to divide our society in the UK."
Care4Calais
"We should be proudly demonstrating that refugee protection is a great British value, rather than creating a two-tier system whereby some refugees are unfairly punished for the way they get to the UK. To differentiate refugees in this way is a stain on Global Britain – and on our long-held reputation for providing protection."
Enver Solomon
CEO, Refugee Council
"Today is a dark day in Britain's history. The country which was once at the forefront of championing the refugee convention has announced it no longer supports the right to claim asylum and be granted sanctuary here from violence."
Jesuit Refugee Service UK
"We are appalled by these cruel and inhumane proposals. We cannot shut the door in the face of those people denied official and organised routes to protection. Seeking asylum is not a crime. It’s a human right."
Scottish Refugee Council
"We must stand against this new plan, and work to create a welcoming environment where refugees are treated with compassion and dignity. No one chooses to become a refugee, and this plan shows a lack of compassion and understanding... This is not a fair asylum system that the UK can be proud of."
Student Action for Refugees
"Priti Patel’s immigration bill is a disgrace. Under this bill, an individuals rights and entitlements to asylum are determined by how they arrive in the country. It is unacceptable."
Across Borders
"Priti Patel’s proposals aren’t just cruel, they undermine the UK’s commitments under the Refugee Convention."
Liberal Democrats
"Priti Patel’s statement on refugees was one of the vilest statements I've heard in Parliament. People seeking asylum have fled war, torture and rape."
Richard Burgon, MP
(Lab, East Leeds)
"'Seeking asylum is not a crime. We cannot consider closing the door on people to whom official and organised routes to seeking asylum are not available."
Scots Faiths Action
"The new policies reduce the protection offered to a large share, possibly the majority, of people who claim asylum in the UK... The proposed expansion of the refugee resettlement programme is not really a route to asylum in the UK for most people, as it is dependent on their selection by the UN, rather than an application process."
Dr Peter William Walsh
Migration Observatory, University of Oxford
The home secretary's comments on asylum are "legally incoherent".
Associate Professor Helen O'Nions
Nottingham Law School