Search for ‘migrant hotels near me’ has rocketed – I’m terrified

In the past week, a disturbing trend has intensified across the UK.

More and more migrant accommodation sites — commonly known as ‘migrant hotels’ — are being surrounded by angry crowds, targeted by hostile protesters, and exposed to escalating threats from the far-right.

In fact, searches for ‘migrant hotels near me’ have shot up by 160% over the past 24 hours on Google Trends, at the time of writing, with searches for one particular accommodation site in London

These searches suggest a dangerous intent to locate and possibly confront people who have come to the UK seeking safety.

There’s even a website being used that tracks all known migrant accommodation sites across the UK.

At Praxis – a charity fighting for migrant rights – we’ve seen the results of this escalating hostility. Verbal abuse hurled at asylum seekers as they go about their lives. Strangers lurking outside, filming with drones. Residents too frightened to leave.

In some cases, violent clashes have broken out — fuelled by misinformation and far-right groups exploiting fears for their own political ends. To those of us who work with migrants and asylum seekers every day, these reports, and that online search data, are chilling signs.

But it’s been escalating for a while. Almost a year on from the race riots of 2024, which saw asylum hotels being set on fire, angry mobs continue to target places where asylum seekers are housed.

While the recent riots in Epping were reportedly sparked by an allegation of sexual assault, it is not the responsibility of the British public to take matters into their own hands through violence, nor to punish an entire group for the actions of one person. 

The UK has a criminal justice system that is responsible for investigating and prosecuting such cases. While trust in that system is low for numerous reasons, collective punishment of a group of people based on race, nationality, or immigration status is never justifiable, and does nothing to achieve justice for victims.

Politicians have responded to the riots of last year and the ongoing volatility outside asylum hotels, not by reassuring the public that vigilantism and racial hatred will not be tolerated, but by continuing the hostile rhetoric that got us here in the first place.

Instead of providing stronger safeguards to residents of these hotels and maintaining discretion regarding their locations, the Government has continued to point an accusatory finger in their direction. 

Earlier this week, Angela Rayner said deprivation and immigration were to blame for strained social cohesion in the UK, while the Home Office vowed to share sensitive data including the location of asylum hotels with delivery apps.

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp’s boastful migrant hunting videos on social media showed him filming people without their consent, and revealing the location of asylum hotels where he accuses asylum seekers of working illegally.  

Let’s be clear. Contrary to what people like Philp say, these are not luxury stays or handouts. 

Thousands of people — families, children, survivors of torture and persecution — are crammed into temporary accommodation while their claims for asylum slowly grind through an overwhelmed process. People are forced to live on £8.86 a week and often don’t even have access to basic kitchen facilities.

Being forced to wait months or years in poverty due to Home Office delays harms both asylum seekers and the economy. The simplest fix — supported by 81% of the public — is to let asylum seekers work.

At this point, the narrative about asylum seekers, human rights, and the asylum system has completely broken down.

A labor government that was serious about protecting the UK’s responsibilities towards international human rights protection would not play into the same playbook as far-right populists.

Following the riots of last summer, we argued for online misinformation to be tackled, for community housing for asylum seekers, and for a system which allows people to cross the Channel safely.

And for the Government to focus on the very real issues that the British public are experiencing, like the cost of living crisis.

I believe the Government has failed to deliver on all these accounts. The fact is that both sides of the political spectrum are hungry for change and our political establishment is failing to deliver.

It should be no surprise that a year on from the race riots, we are teetering dangerously close to the same levels of violence and hate exploding on our streets again.

We must realise that the anti-migrant feeling didn’t come from nowhere. From the top down, our policies treat migrants with hostility and the Government uses them as a scapegoat for policy failures in housing, public services, and the economy. The prejudice inevitably filters down.

But we know that most people want to support their neighbors, whatever they look like or whatever religion they follow. We must push back against the narrative that migrants are threats to be targeted, protested, or pushed out.

In reality, they are people like you or I, who simply want to live a safe and peaceful life in the UK. 

Right now, this Government is scapegoating people seeking asylum to distract us from their failures. Those coming to the UK are not the reason the NHS is crumbling or that housing policy fails to meet our current needs. 

Those searching for ‘migrant hotels near me’ should instead turn their scrutiny towards the Government and our wider political discourse, and ensure that they deliver on their promises to end poverty and stabilise the economy.  

The root causes of these crises can be tackled if we hold our politicians to account.

Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing jess.austin@usnewsrank.com. 

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