A PROTEST against the Nationality and Borders Bill has been planned to take place in Bradford's City Park today.

The protest will be held from 5pm to 6pm and has been organised in partnership with several local organisations, including BIASAN, Bradford City of Sanctuary, the Racial Justice Network and Asylum Matters.

The objectives of the Government's Nationality and Borders Bill, which is at the committee stage, are to "make the asylum system fairer", "deter illegal entry to the UK" and to "remove people with no right to be in the country".

It also aims to "introduce new and tougher criminal offences for those attempting to enter the UK illegally".

But opposition to the bill claims that it is "anti-refugee", with Mohammed Amin, co-founder and international director of Bradford-based charity AROUK, arguing that it is "unfair" to those who are “in fear for their lives and have nowhere to go".

"Local organisations are coming together in Bradford today to show solidarity with refugees, who should be welcomed and should be allowed to seek safety and protect their lives”, said Amin, who is of the Rohingya ethnic group and grew up in a refugee camp in Bangladesh, before moving to Bradford in 2012 and becoming involved with local communities across the district.

“This bill is anti-refugee and wants to push refugees back. The Government doesn’t want to welcome them, and it is unacceptable that it wants to pass this bill”, he added.

“That is why we are working and raising our voices against the bill. Refugees should be welcome here in the UK – they have always been a part of British society.”