A FRONT-LINE nurse who’s worked 12-hour shifts through the Covid pandemic says she would have been deported under Priti Patel’s cruel immigration plans.

Two in three refugees who are currently allowed asylum in Britain would be turned away when the “reforms” kick in, campaigners say.

The government has been accused of abandoning people fleeing war and conflict after analysis found that the majority of people who have sought sanctuary in Britain would be denied protections in future.

Under Ms Patel’s proposed policy, asylum claims would for the first time be treated differently based on refugees’ means of entry, with those using “illegal” routes penalised.

Among the thousands of refugees living in Britain who would have been rejected is NHS front-line worker Aster, who has spent 12-hour shifts on a Covid-19 ward during the pandemic. 

Aster joined the health service after arriving in Britain in the back of a lorry from Eritrea in 2009. She was forced to flee the east African country’s brutal dictatorship after she was imprisoned when her husband fled army conscription. 

“When I left Eritrea, I didn’t know if I was going to live or die,” she said. 

“I just knew I had to get out. Because I am alive and because I am in a safe country I promise to God that I will help anyone.”

Although Aster is a key worker saving lives on the front line of the pandemic, she said she would have been deported from Britain under the new rules due to her method of entry. 

She called on the government not to deport people claiming asylum.

“Every time you give someone sanctuary, you have the opportunity to save a life,” she said. “Why would you send them back?”

Under the government’s plans, all asylum-seekers arriving to Britain via “illegal” routes would be deported unless their removal is not possible. Those who successfully claim asylum would only be eligible for temporary status in Britain and face limited access to benefits. 

Only refugees arriving through government resettlement schemes would enjoy full protections, prompting fears of a two-tier asylum system. 

The proposals have been widely condemned, including by the UN’s refugee agency which warned that they risk breaching international law. 

The figures revealing that two in three refugees would no longer be eligible to claim asylum in Britain have been released today by new coalition Together With Refugees, which represents 200 organisations.  

The coalition, founded by Asylum Matters, the British Red Cross, Freedom from Torture, Refugee Action, the Refugee Council and the Scottish Refugee Council, is calling for a more fair and humane approach to the asylum system. 

Its analysis of Home Office data found that an average of 15,410 people were granted refugee status each year from 2015 to 2020. More than 60 per cent of claims in 2019 were from people who entered Britain via an irregular route, according to the Home Office, suggesting that those people would have been denied protections under the new plans. 
 
The coalition’s analysis of official figures also revealed that half of the almost 60,000 people granted refugee status from 2015 and 2020 were women and children. 

Spokesman Sabir Zazai, who is a refugee himself, said: “Abandoning people fleeing war and persecution, including women and children, is not who we are in the UK.  

“These are mothers escaping war-torn Syria, women fleeing sexual violence in Congo or children escaping lifelong conscription into the military in Eritrea. These are people in fear of their lives.”

The Home Office said it makes no apology for its proposals and said that the asylum system is currently being exploited by human traffickers.

However, campaigners argue that the plans to penalise those making irregular routes will push more people into the hands of people smugglers. 

The Home Office added: “People should be reassured by our track record — since 2015 we have resettled over 25,000 vulnerable refugees, many women and children, so they can rebuild their lives here.”