Comedian Dom Joly dressed as Mickey Mouse on Monday morning to lead a protest outside the U.K. Parliament against the government’s Illegal Migration Bill.
According to the government, the proposed law would make it so “those who arrive in the U.K. illegally will not be able to stay here and will instead be detained and then promptly removed, either to their home country or a safe third country.”
Joly, who is an ambassador for the charity Save the Children, has concerns about how the bill could affect child refugees. According to The Guardian, earlier this month immigration minister Robert Jenrick had murals of Mickey Mouse and other cartoons painted over at an asylum center in Kent — hence why Joly came dressed as the iconic Disney mascot.
“A lot of child refugees, one of the first things they see when they come to this country is something like that, which gives them a vague feeling that they’re welcomed, and taking those down, it’s a spiteful, nasty thing to do,” Joly told PA Media, via the Evening Standard. “So, we’ve taken the mouse and we’ve stood outside the Home Office, and now we’re outside Parliament, just trying to make the point that this is just not the way forward.”
The Illegal Migration Bill is currently passing through the final stages of Parliament as MPs and the House of Lords rally back and forth on amendments.
Having recently visited Ukraine, Joly has seen firsthand the devastation of the war and the reason for families fleeing.
“I’d say whatever your views on immigration, children are innocent, children have not chosen to be in this situation, children have not got views on this,” Joly said.