After-Brexit Worries

The U.K.’s Catholic Association for Racial Justice plans to identify and support specific groups who have become newly vulnerable since Brexit. Long involved in supporting Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities, the association welcomed a report, “Roma Communities and Brexit,” from the Institute of Public Policy. The study traces the migration of Roma communities from Central and Eastern Europe to the United Kingdom and warns that once European Union funding for the integration of this group is withdrawn post-Brexit, the U.K. government may not make up the shortfall. “These communities, already among the most disadvantaged in our society, now find themselves newly vulnerable in a number of ways. There is uncertainty over their future right of residency; they will feel insecure given the recent rise in hate crime; and E.U. funding to support Roma integration may cease.” The association has joined the Caritas Social Action Network in encouraging members of the U.K. Catholic community to make themselves aware of the issues raised in the report and to become actively involved in public discussion about how Brexit will affect Roma communities.