Side-stepping international law on the sly:The secret severing of the EU Settlement Scheme from the Withdrawal Agreement

Which of the 6 million+ people residing in the UK on the basis of the Withdrawal Agreement has documentary confirmation that they are doing so? Well, astonishingly, the UK government’s position appears to be: none of them. The government is peeling away the guarantees offered by the Withdrawal Agreement from those registered with the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS). In an effort to prevent a small group of people with ‘pre-settled status’ from temporarily claiming benefits, the government is now arguing that the EUSS is not evidence of Withdrawal Agreement residence status. This affects all 6 million+ EUSS status holders, denying them evidence of core WA rights. They therefore have no international legal protections against any future immigrant-hostile government stripping rights from people with EUSS status. This is a Windrush II scandal in the making. But it is eminently avoidable, should the current government take some simple steps now to recognise EUSS status as a Withdrawal Agreement residence status – which was the very reason given for requiring all EU citizens (and their family members) for registering in the first place.