Trump Administration Weighs Asylum Option for British Jews

Discussions are under way within the Trump administration about the possibility of offering asylum to Jewish people from the United Kingdom, according to a report published by The Telegraph last night

The proposal was raised by Robert Garson, President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, who told the newspaper that he has held conversations with officials at the U.S. State Department about offering refuge to British Jews. Garson said the Islamist attack on a Manchester synagogue on Yom Kippur and widespread antisemitism following the Hamas terror attacks on Israel on October 7 led him to conclude that the United Kingdom is “no longer a safe place for Jews.”

In the interview, Garson said he sees “no future” for Jews in Britain and placed much of the responsibility on Prime Minister Keir Starmer, accusing him of allowing antisemitism to flourish. Garson also criticized British authorities for what he described as a lack of political will to enforce public order laws against protesters who glorified violence against Jews.

“This is certainly not an unattractive proposal,” Garson said. He said he had spoken with people in the State Department and raised the issue in his role on the Holocaust Memorial Council. He described British Jews as a highly educated, English-speaking community with a low rate of criminality, adding that there “have been talks” on the issue. “When I look at what is happening to Jews in Britain, and when I examine the demographic changes, I don’t believe there is a future for Jews in the United Kingdom,” he said.

Garson, 49, was born in Manchester and previously practiced as a criminal defense barrister in London before relocating to the United States in 2008. He now lives in Florida and has taken on a more visible role around Trump and senior figures in his political circle. Trump appointed Garson last year to the United States Holocaust Memorial Council after dismissing board members appointed during the Biden administration.

Garson said he also raised the idea with Yehuda Kaploun, Trump’s special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism, who took office in December and operates out of the State Department at the level of an ambassador.

Data released in recent years point to growing anxiety within Britain’s Jewish community. A 2025 survey by the Institute for Jewish Policy Research found that 35 percent of British Jews felt unsafe in the UK, up from 9 percent in 2023 before the October 7 attacks and the subsequent protests. The same survey found that 47 percent of respondents viewed antisemitism as a “very big” problem, compared with 11 percent in 2012.