UK Needs a Refugee Policy That is Principled, Pragmatic and Effective

A thought-provoking new report by some notable authors was published last week by the Legatum Institute calling for the development of a British refugee policy that is principled, pragmatic, and effective.

The authors argue that amid the growing politicisation of asylum, especially in relation to small-boat Channel crossings, Britain needs a long-term and sustainable vision for responding to one of the defining issues of our time.

As the Legatum Institute explains, the report aims to serve as a framework for public debate by 1) articulating the challenges and narrating them in accessible language, 2) identifying realistic, workable solutions that balance principle and pragmatism, and 3) stimulating informed public debate that transcends party politics.

Alexander Betts said: "Refugee movements are a major global challenge, and yet the UK has never had a clearly defined national refugee policy. As co-authors, we've worked collaboratively across traditional divides to propose the elements of a unifying strategy that can be principled, pragmatic, and effective."

Read more: Electronic Immigration Network, https://rb.gy/rqs0s9

‘Safe and Legal’ Routes to the UK for People Seeking Protection

New from the House of Commons Library last week is a concise and objective look at the 'safe and legal' routes that exist for people seeking protection to come to the UK. Home Secretary Suella Braverman told the Conservative conference last week that she wants to bring forward legislation "to make it clear that the only route to the United Kingdom is through a safe and legal route".

As the Refugee Council points out, however, "[f]or the vast majority of refugees, there is no safe way for them to seek asylum in the UK." The Refugee Council also points out that it does not agree with the terminology used by the Government: "Sometimes safe routes for refugees are referred to as 'safe and legal routes' or 'official routes'. We refer to them as safe routes, as the alternative is to travel in an irregular manner to claim asylum in the UK, while this can be dangerous, claiming asylum is not illegal."

As the House of Commons Library notes in its briefing, while recent governments have wanted fewer people to come to the UK as asylum seekers and more to come through safe and legal routes, the same governments have resisted calls to provide such routes to people who make irregular journeys to Europe to come to the UK.

Read more: Electronic Immigration Network, https://rb.gy/8n1zqj

Home Secretary’s Conservative Party Conference Speech: an Empty Vessel

Suella Braverman’s speech to the Conservative Party conference yesterday evening confirmed two things. She really doesn’t like the Human Rights Act, the Modern Slavery Act or the European Court of Human Rights. And that the problems with the UK immigration system are complex and intense. One of these problems is imaginary and the other real. No real solutions were offered to either.

Braverman had pre-empted the immigration section of her speech with her mood music briefings to various select journalists over the last few days. You can read our take on those here. The speech contained little or no concrete policy proposals and certainly nothing to back up the Times headline that Channel migrants were facing a blanket “asylum ban”. Her speech was instead full of rhetoric, anecdotes and predictable buzzwords. I think I scored a perfect ten in Braverman Bingo.

We’re all used to film trailers being more exciting than the film itself, but this was like watching the trailer for Die Hard then seeing The Sound of Music. The singalong version. Braverman looks like she is very much falling into the trap of over-promising then being unable to deliver.

Read more: Freemovement, https://rb.gy/hjde0s

Are People Crossing the Channel in Small Boats Doing Anything Illegal?

As we reported last week, a recent letter from government lawyers clarified the Home Office’s position that “[s]ince July 2022… migrants who cross the Channel in small boats who are either rescued or directed to land at designated locations by the authorities are no longer deemed to be illegal entrants, but arriving passengers.” Does this mean they have done nothing illegal?

Until 27 June 2022, under section 24 of the Immigration Act 1971, a person would have been guilty of an offence if they knowingly entered the UK either in breach of a deportation order or without leave to remain. This was a summary offence. A summary offence is normally tried at a magistrates’ court and is generally considered less serious than other types of offences. This particular offence was punishable by a fine and/or up to 6 months’ imprisonment. In practice, people caught by the provision were mostly dealt with administratively, not prosecuted in the criminal courts.

Read more: Freemovement, https://rb.gy/hsamlt

Shut Down Derwentside Immigration Removal Centre - National Protest

Saturday, 15 October 2022 Assemble 12:00 Noon

Corbridge Road, Medomsley, County Durham, DH8 6QY

The third national protest against Derwentside (more commonly known as Hassockfield) Immigration Removal Centre... and the first national protest at the site itself! In the last few days of 2021, the first women were transferred to Derwentside Immigration Prison.

Many women incarcerated at Hassockfield are innocent of criminal activity and are detained for unjust, unnecessary and inhumane administrative purposes. The majority of women within immigration detention have endured unimaginable trauma from human trafficking, modern slavery, torture, abuse and gender-based violence. We know that confinement and imprisonment resurface trauma and render women extremely vulnerable. The opening of this immigration prison completely contradicts previous Home Office pledges to reduce the number of immigration removal centres (prisons!) across the country.

Since March 2021, we have been committed and will continue to be committed to doing all we can to get this prison shut down! This site could instead be used for something that will bring benefit and hope to those in the surrounding community, creating jobs that are not founded on the inhumane exploitation and detention of human beings.

It is time we made the UK a welcoming, supportive and kind place that welcomes those forcibly displaced, no matter where they come from. No one chooses to be a refugee. It is time the Government abolishes its hostile policies, and closing immigration prisons like these is the first step in doing so!

This is our first national protest at the site itself, and we must make as much noise as possible to show solidarity so that the women imprisoned there can hear. Please join us and stand in solidarity against this abhorrent facility.

We are calling for the Government to #Shut Down and #SetHerFree! We are also saying #NoToRwanda!

Please bring banners of love! Bring your voices and instruments to make lots of noise

This demonstration is organised by No To Hassockfield, ‘Abolish Detention’, and ‘Durham People’s Assembly’

If you need any travel assistance or support, please email abolishdetention@gmail.com

Source for this message: Global Women Against Deportations <gwad@allwomencount.net>

Ukrainians in the UK Face a Homelessness Crisis - Government Needs to Act Now

It has been six months since the UK announced its initial response to the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, allowing those affected by the outbreak of conflict to arrive or remain in the UK under visa-based immigration routes.

Since the schemes launched, over 134,200 Ukrainians have arrived (as of 4 October 2022), and many more are likely to follow as the conflict continues into the winter months. The response from the legal profession has been overwhelming, with hundreds of immigration lawyers volunteering with the Ukraine Advice Project.

However, real-life case studies and a new report published by the Work Rights Centre, based on survey data with Ukrainians, have found that urgent action is required to prevent parts of the Ukrainian community from homelessness and related hardship. I

Read more: Freemovement, https://rb.gy/x4jreq

Home Office Concedes in Supreme Court EU Law Deportation Appeal

In an unusual development, the Secretary of State for the Home Department has conceded that the Court of Appeal erred in Hussein v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2020] EWCA Civ 156. The mistake was in the consideration of the impact of imprisonment on whether someone has achieved permanent resident status under EU law.

In the Court of Appeal, Mr Hussain won and his deportation appeal was remitted to the Upper Tribunal. The Court of Appeal had said that the First-tier Tribunal had failed to accurately consider and apply the correct test. The issue before the Supreme Court was not whether the Tribunal had accurately applied the test, but if the Tribunal and Court of Appeal had taken the correct approach all together.

Read more: Freemovement, https://rb.gy/f7gepq

What are the 10 and 20 Year Rules on Long Residence?

The Immigration Rules allow people to apply to remain in the UK on the basis of long residence. Those here lawfully can apply for indefinite leave to remain following 10 years’ continuous lawful residence in the UK. Those who had periods of overstay can apply for limited leave to remain following 20 years’ continuous residence.

A word on the timing of applications. The earliest that someone can have an application granted under the 10 year rule is 28 days before completing the qualifying period of 10 years. There will be cases where people need to submit their application earlier than 28 days in advance, and the Home Office guidance confirms that, as long as the application is being considered 28 days or fewer before the qualifying period is completed, it should be granted. It can be difficult to have full control over timing once the application is submitted, so wherever possible applicants should apply no earlier than 28 days before 10 years are on the clock.

Read more: Freemovement, https://rb.gy/xezlvf