Migrants posing as children are pushing foster carers to breaking point
Foster carers in the UK are facing significant challenges due to migrants posing as unaccompanied minors. Reports indicate that many of these individuals are actually adults, leading to serious incidents and strain on the foster care system. The number of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children remains high, while the number of fostering households continues to decline.
- ▪Foster carers are instructed not to collude in secrets with the children they care for.
- ▪Reports have emerged that many migrants claiming to be minors are actually adults, complicating placements.
- ▪As of March 2025, there were 6,540 unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in the UK, with a significant percentage being older teenagers.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
Migrants posing as children are pushing foster carers to breaking point Asylum seekers who claim to be unaccompanied minors are gaming the system unchallenged. i Picture by: Getty dataLayer.push({ event: 'author', author: "Rosie Lewis" }) Rosie Lewis 26th May 2026 i Picture by: Getty Share Topics UK Want unlimited, ad-free access? Become a spiked supporter. As a foster carer, one of the first instructions we’re given in training is that we must not, under any circumstances, agree to collude in secrets with the children we care for. If a child I’m looking after asks me to keep a secret, I tell him or her gently that surprises are nice things to share, but secrets don’t keep us safe.
…
Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Spiked.
Discussion
0 commentsMore from Spiked
