Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby warns visa changes will harm family relationships
Changes to visa rules in a drive to curb immigration numbers will have a “negative impact” on critical family relationships, the Archbishop of Canterbury has warned.
While the Most Rev Justin Welby said the government was “rightly concerned” with reducing legal migration figures, he warned there would be “a cost to be paid” as a result of some of the restrictions being introduced.
Stressing the importance of families to society, the top Anglican cleric argued the government “must not set a series of hurdles for them to jump over”.
Mr Welby also said the two-child benefit cap was “not a good policy” and the moral case for scrapping it was “beyond any question”.
Under a package of measures unveiled this week, overseas health and care workers will be prevented from bringing their dependants to the UK, while Britons must be earning at least £38,700 if they want to bring foreign family members.
The dramatic increase of the threshold – more than double the previous limit of £18,600 – to above the median income for a full-time employee has sparked criticism.
Net migration hit a record 745,000 in 2022, although it is estimated to have fallen to 672,000 in the year to June 2023.
The move to limit legal arrivals comes as the government seeks to press ahead with its controversial Rwanda asylum plan in a bid to stop illegal crossings on small boats.
Speaking in parliament, Mr Welby called on the government to take action to promote the “flourishing” of families.
He said: “This week we hear that many people in this country will be prevented from living together with their spouse, child or children, elderly parents, as a result of a big increase in the minimum income requirement for family visas.
“The government is rightly concerned with bringing down the legal migration figures and I’m not, you’ll be relieved to know, going into the politics of that.
“But there is a cost to be paid in terms of the negative impact this will have on married and family relationships for those who live and work and contribute to our life together, particularly in social care.”
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Government unveils immigration plan
The archbishop pressed for the application to policy of a “family test”, introduced in 2014 under then prime minister David Cameron, now Lord Cameron, and said it should be on the front of every piece of legislation.
Mr Welby said: “The state is useful to the family, the family is indispensable to the state. A lack of strong families undermines our whole society.
“Government needs families to work. They must not set a series of hurdles for them to jump over.”
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He also pointed to estimates by campaigners that ditching the two-child benefit limit “would lift a quarter of a million children out of poverty”.
Mr Welby added: “The moral case is beyond any question, yet the unfair penalty applied to additional children affects their educational outcomes, mental and physical health, their likelihood to require public support from public services later on.
“It is not a good policy.
“Will the government and the opposition, should they become the government at some point, consider removing the two-child limit and addressing other systems and policy choices which keep family in poverty?”
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He urged all political parties to “place flourishing families and households as a key objective” within their manifestos at the next general election.
His comments came during the annual debate he leads in the House of Lords, with this year’s topic Love Matters, The Report Of The Archbishops’ Commission On Families and Households.
A group of US Senate Democrats known for supporting the crypto industry have said they would oppose a Republican-led stablecoin bill if it moves forward in its current form.
The move threatens to stall legislation that could establish the first US regulatory framework for stablecoins, according to a May 3 report from Politico.
Per the report, nine Senate Democrats said in a joint statement that the bill “still has numerous issues that must be addressed.” They warned they would not support a procedural vote to advance the legislation unless changes are made.
Among the signatories were Senators Ruben Gallego, Mark Warner, Lisa Blunt Rochester and Andy Kim — all of whom had previously backed the bill when it passed through the Senate Banking Committee in March.
The bill, introduced by Senator Bill Hagerty, is formally known as the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act.
Related: Fed’s Powell reasserts support for stablecoin legislation
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The Senate is expected to begin floor consideration of the bill in the coming days, with the first vote potentially taking place next week.
The bill has been championed by the crypto industry as a landmark step toward regulatory clarity. However, the Democrats’ about-face reflects growing unease within the party.
Although revisions were made to the bill after its committee approval to address Democratic concerns, the lawmakers said the changes fell short. They called for stronger safeguards related to Anti-Money Laundering, national security, foreign issuers, and accountability measures for noncompliant actors.
The statement was also signed by Senators Raphael Warnock, Catherine Cortez Masto, Ben Ray Luján, John Hickenlooper and Adam Schiff.
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Senator Angela Alsobrooks were absent from the list, who co-sponsored the bill alongside Hagerty.
Despite their objections, the Democratic senators emphasized their commitment to shaping responsible crypto regulation. They reportedly said they “are eager to continue working with our colleagues to address these issues.”
Related: US banks are ‘free to begin supporting Bitcoin’
Crypto needs a stablecoin bill
On April 27, Caitlin Long, founder and CEO of Custodia Bank, criticized the US Federal Reserve for quietly maintaining a key anti-crypto policy that favors big-bank-issued stablecoins, despite relaxing crypto partnership rules for banks.
Long explained that while the Fed recently rescinded four prior crypto guidelines, a Jan. 27, 2023, statement was left intact in coordination with the Biden administration.
The guidance, according to Long, blocks banks from engaging directly with crypto assets and prohibits them from issuing stablecoins on permissionless blockchains.
However, Long noted that once a federal stablecoin bill becomes law, it could override the Fed’s stance. “Congress should hurry up,” she urged.
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Bitcoiners and United States government officials have criticized Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs’s decision to veto a bill that would have allowed the state to hold Bitcoin as part of its official reserves.
“This will age poorly,” Casa co-founder and cypherpunk Jameson Lopp said in a May 3 X post. Bitcoin (BTC) entrepreneur Anthony Pompliano said, “Imagine the ignorance of a politician to believe they can make investment decisions.”
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“If she can’t outperform Bitcoin, she must buy it,” Pompliano said. Crypto lawyer Andrew Gordon said, “We need more elected officials who understand that Bitcoin and crypto are the future.”
Wendy Rogers, who co-sponsored the bill with State Representative Jeff Weninger, also voiced her disappointment.
“Politicians don’t understand that Bitcoin doesn’t need Arizona. Arizona needs Bitcoin,” Rogers said.
On May 2, Hobbs vetoed the Arizona Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act, which would have permitted Arizona to invest seized funds into Bitcoin and create a reserve managed by state officials. “Today, I vetoed Senate Bill 1025. The Arizona State Retirement System is one of the strongest in the nation because it makes sound and informed investments,” Hobbs said.
Rogers said she would refile the bill during her next session. Rogers also pointed out that Arizona’s state retirement system already holds stocks of Michael Saylor’s Strategy (MSTR).
“Which is basically a leveraged Bitcoin ETF. Arizona’s Strategic Bitcoin Reserve bill will be back. HODL,” Rogers said. The stock price of Strategy rose 32% in April, the most significant monthly gain since November 2024.
Related: US gov’t actions give clue about upcoming crypto regulation
However, well-known crypto skeptic Peter Schiff sided with Hobbs. “The government should not be making decisions to use public funds to speculate in cryptocurrencies,” Schiff said.
Arizona would have become the first US state to establish a Bitcoin Strategic Reserve if it had passed.
Arizona joins several other US states where similar efforts have failed. Similar proposals in Oklahoma, Montana, South Dakota and Wyoming have stalled or been withdrawn recently.
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