3,000 child refugees to be allowed into UK from Europe after House of Lords vote

The United Kingdom might be taking in 3,000 unaccompanied child refugees from Europe.

The amendment to the Immigration Bill filed by Labour's Lord Dubs was supported by peers, outvoting the government in the House of Lords 306 to 204. Once the bill becomes law, ministers would have to allow 3,000 child refugees from Europe to take refuge in Britain.

"We have a principled objection," Home Office minister Lord Bates said, as quoted by the BBC, "that the people most at risk are in the region."

The government is putting its effort in helping refugees from Syria, he said, prior to extending support to those in Europe. They have pledged to accept 20,000 refugees by 2020, and of 1,000 who have already been allowed into the U.K., 51 percent are children.

He said, "I question whether it (the amendment) identifies, or provides help, for the right people. We believe we should not be doing anything that encourages one child to make that perilous journey."

Lord Dubs, however, said that the effort would save kids from abuse and exploitation.

"I would like other children who are in a desperate situation to be offered safety in this country and be given the same opportunities that I had," Lord Dubs, himself a refugee who fled Nazi Germany during World War II, said.

He received support from crossbench peer Baroness Neuberger who said that if it was done in '30s, then "why can't we do it now?" Rt Rev Stephen Cottrell, the Bishop of Chelmsford, also said that it's "a small, but beautiful thing" that they can do. Christian Today reports that other Christians in the House of Lords also gave it a nod, including Liberal Democrate leader Tim Farron and Lord Alton.

Save the Children, Home for Good, and other groups have campaigned for the government to accept refugee kids from Europe.

However, this may still be overturned when the bill is returned to the House of Commons.