POLITICIANS in Glasgow have united to pen an open letter to the Home Office, asking the department to "leave our neighbours alone".
Local representatives across political parties have gathered to sign the open letter - addressed directly to the Home Secretary, Priti Patel.
It is signed by 27 city councillors and members of Scottish and UK Parliaments, including First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.
It reads: "The purpose of this letter is to let you know how deeply we oppose your Government's 'New Plan for Immigration', to explain a little about Scotland's very different attitude to immigration and to come together in solidarity against the practice of immigration enforcement raids often referred to as dawn raids."
We've joined with Glasgow colleagues across political parties, from the council & both parliaments to tell the Home Secretary @ukhomeoffice to leave our neighbours alone. We do not support unannounced raids at dawn or any other time. #immigration #asylum #RefugeesAreWelcomeHere pic.twitter.com/3WsosrItt8
— Anne McLaughlin SNP MP (@AnneMcLaughlin) May 21, 2021
Currently, the Scottish Government does not have the powers needed to deliver tailored immigration policies for Scotland.
In recent years, it has called for greater powers over immigration policy to protect Scotland’s economy, public services and future population growth.
The letter continues: "In Glasgow and in Scotland, we welcome Scots. They are part of us, our communities and our city. This was very evident last week when your department chose to deploy immigration enforcement teams to arrest and detain two people in Pollokshields.
"There was no surprise to any of the signatures to this letter. Pollokshields is one og Glasgow's most enduring and diverse communities, home to generations of people from across social backgrounds, ethnicities, faiths and beliefs. It is a community."
Last Thursday, hundreds of locals blocked an immigration enforcement van from detaining two men on the same street yesterday morning.
During an eight-hour-long stand-off, chants including "open the door", "leave our neighbours", "let them go", were echoed until the two men - named Sumit Sehdev and Lakhvir Singh - were released.
The letter goes on: "There are two issues that made last week the worst possible time for your department to instruct the raids. The first is that the community was celebrating Eid al~Fitr.
"It is hard enough for people to have to do so under the restrictions but to witness something like this at this time was extremely depressing for people."
The 27 city politicians have called for the Home Office to put a stop to unannounced dawn raids in Scotland, asking for the department to assure that the evictions will never be used as a means to remove people from asylum accommodation."
The letter concludes "There are better and more humane ways to treat people."
The Home Office has been approached for comment.
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