'Anger and confusion' among EU nationals fearful of future in Brexit Britain

EU nationals say they are scared about their future in post-Brexit Britain after three ’emotionally draining years’ of immigrant ‘bashing’.

Maike Bohn, whose organisation represents the three million Europeans living in the UK, told Metro.co.uk that most feel insecure about their place in the country as the clock ticks towards the deadline tonight.

She said problems with the settled status scheme and a rise in xenophobia have made people fearful of becoming ‘second class citizens’ under Boris Johnson‘s so-called ‘new era’.

The Prime Minister’s optimism is little consolation for expats like herself, who feel self-conscious speaking in their native language in public amid the ‘hostile environment’ caused by Brexit.

The German national, who has lived in the UK for 30 years, said some people she represents are considering packing their bags if things don’t improve.

She told this news site: ‘I live in Bristol which is a tolerant city, and I have been told to ‘go home’. In many cases, especially in leave areas, we have experienced almost a hatred.

‘Some people don’t want to live in this kind of society, it’s depressing.

‘People are gauging the mood and waiting to see what happens. I think we will see more people leaving and less entering.’ .

At 11pm today, bonds dating back to 1973 when the UK joined the European Economic Community will be broken.

Maike said European citizens would be feeling a sense of ‘loss and anger’ but stressed their fight was with British leaders, and not the public for voting  to leave in the divisive referendum of  2016.

The3milion group have accused the government of failing to deliver on promises to automatically grant EU citizens status and guarantee their existing rights.

People who uprooted decades ago have complained of being forced to ‘prove they belong’ when applying for the right to stay in their home.

Maike said: ‘We have gone from being neighbours and friends to a commodity. People will tolerate us as long as we are economically useful and that comes from the top.

‘Politicians have blamed us for the country’s problems, saying things like immigration drains the NHS. We have become scapegoats.

‘Some EU citizens don’t want to grow old in a country that wants to get rid of them. EU Bashing has left us feeling unsupported and unloved.

‘Our beef is not with the British public, but with leaders who have whipped up anti-immigrant sentiment’.

Maike added that rhetoric about foreigners was made worse by the ‘inhumane’ settled status system that was set up for EU nationals after Brexit.

A recent report found thousands of Europeans are wrongly being denied housing, employment and other basic rights if they cannot prove their right to remain in the country – despite the deadline being over a year away.

The findings came after the Home Office refused a plea to give EU citizens physical proof of settled status, which campaigners say is needed in order to prevent ‘another Windrush’.

Maike said the digital-only scheme denied people the ‘fundamental right’ to physical documentation and was not feasible for vulnerable or elderly people without access to the internet.

She said: ‘People don’t feel safe Our rights are not guaranteed in law. The least the government could do is give us the right to a physical document. We have been reduced to a digital code.’

The Home Office have strongly refuted criticism of the settled status scheme.

Figures published by the department earlier this month said that of the 2.75 million applications they received, only six were rejected on ‘suitability grounds’.

However, civil servants are dealing with a backlog of about 300,000 requests and there are concerns for the tens of thousands of people who have still not applied.

The security minister, Brandon Lewis, has previously threatened EU citizens with deportation from the UK if they do not apply for settled status by June 2021.

Maike said: ‘The government needs to remove the toxic deadline and locally there needs to be much more outreach. People are at risk of becoming unlawful overnight.

‘Doctors, landlords and employers are becoming border agents.

‘We are scared we will become second class citizens. We don’t know what future we face.’