THE pandemic has exacerbated the “deadly effects” of the Tories’ hostile environment, according to a new study documenting the experiences of undocumented migrants during the crisis. 

Policies blocking access to healthcare, housing, benefits and the right to work have forced such people into exploitative “no work, no pay” jobs and cramped housing, putting them at greater risk from coronavirus, according to the survey. 

Published yesterday by migrant rights group Kanlungan Filipino Consortium and backed by the British Academy, the research followed the experiences of 15 Filipino migrants, all but one of whom had jobs as carers or domestic workers. They were interviewed in spring 2020 and at the same time this year.

Almost half of those surveyed said that they had avoided vaccination against Covid-19 because of their immigration status or for lack of sufficient information.

One respondent said: “It could be a trap. If they have our details, they can catch us. I'm not going to do the vaccine.” 

One man said that his wife had not sought medical help when she experienced flu-like symptoms. 

Covid-19 vaccines, testing and treatments are available to everyone regardless of immigration status and without checks, but campaigners have repeatedly warned that many people are still too scared to access healthcare. 

The report insists that the pandemic has “intensified and highlighted the deadly effects of the hostile environment.”

The Home Office said: “Many of the wide-ranging Covid-19 measures we put in place were available to migrants with no recourse to public funds, including the coronavirus job retention scheme, self-employed income support scheme and protections for renters from evictions.”