WASHINGTON D.C January 18, 2026 – Reports indicate that the incoming Trump administration is considering offering asylum to Jewish individuals from the United Kingdom, citing a significant increase in antisemitism making the country unsafe for its Jewish community.
The discussions stem from comments by Robert Garson, Donald Trump’s personal lawyer and a former British barrister who relocated to the US in 2008. Garson, born in Manchester and now based in Florida, told reporters that “the UK is no longer a safe place for Jews.” He has reportedly raised the idea directly with the US State Department and Trump’s special envoy for combating antisemitism, Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun.
Garson, aged 49, serves on the board of the US Holocaust Memorial Council—an appointment made by Trump last May—and has represented the president in legal matters, including a defamation claim. He described British Jews as a “highly educated community that speaks English natively” with “low criminality,” arguing they would integrate well in the US.
The lawyer pointed to a surge in antisemitic incidents following the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, including an alleged Islamist attack on a Manchester synagogue and unchecked protests glorifying violence against Jews. He accused UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer of enabling antisemitism through a lack of political will, noting failures by the Crown Prosecution Service to charge certain protesters.
A 2025 survey by the Institute for Jewish Policy Research found that 35% of UK Jews now feel unsafe, up sharply from previous years, with 47% viewing antisemitism as a “very big” problem.
There has been no official confirmation or response from the White House or Trump transition team regarding these discussions.
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