EU Migration Pact Equals More Misery, Racism and Violence Against Migrants
The EU has ramped up its assault on refugee rights with its latest sweep of borderisation policies. On Tuesday 14 May, the bloc gave the final greenlight for a broad overhaul of its migration and asylum policies. However, the new EU ‘Migration Pact’ is simply another extension of its racist “fortress Europe” project. Crucially, its colonial undertones were unmistakable amidst platitudes to “help people fleeing persecution”.
Across a suite of ten legislative acts, the EU has reformed its framework for asylum and migration. A majority of EU countries backed these, ensuring its passage despite opposition from Hungary and Poland. The overhaul comes into effect from 2026.
It establishes new border centres that will detain migrants while their asylum requests are vetted. Notably, the new policies will effectively accelerate deportations. Partly, it will do so through new border procedures that categorise asylum seekers. Border officials will use this new system to make quick assessments on applications.
Read more: Hannah Sharland, The Canary, https://shorturl.at/bklBN
Rising Protests Among UK Asylum Seekers Held for Deportation to Rwanda
Protests and hunger strikes among asylum seekers held in detention centres in preparation for deportation to Rwanda are increasing, the Guardian has learned.
Approximately 55 detainees, including Afghans, Iranians and Kurds, are believed to have staged a 10-hour peaceful protest in the exercise yard at Brook House immigration removal centre, near Gatwick airport, from 6pm on Tuesday until 4am on Wednesday.
The Home Office contractor at the centre, Serco, and Home Office sources, confirmed the protest.
An Afghan asylum seeker involved in the protest told the Guardian the detainees refused to go back to their cells, fearful of being sent to Rwanda and not understanding why the Home Office had targeted them for forced removal to the east African country.
Read more: Diane Taylor, Guardian, https://rb.gy/mxlkga
Climate Protesters Attempt to Storm Germany's Tesla Factory
Hundreds of climate protesters have clashed with police in Germany after attempting to storm the Tesla factory near Berlin. Several people were injured, including three police officers, during Friday's demonstration against the proposed expansion of the electric car giant's only European plant. Police made several arrests and prevented activists from gaining access to the facility. Campaigners have been camped out in woods in Grünheide, in the state of Brandenburg, since February, claiming Tesla's plans to double the size of its factory would damage the environment.
Demonstrators on Friday 10th May blocked a nearby motorway and interrupted the railway service by sitting on the tracks, police said. There was also a sit-in on a country road near the factory. Footage on social media shows hundreds of people, many donning blue caps and holding blue flags, running towards the site attempting to gain access. One video, verified by the BBC, shows protesters breaking through the police cordon and entering the grounds of the factory, which is located around 30km (18 miles) from the capital. They can be seen heading towards an outlying building at the northeast corner of the Gigafactory grounds.
Read more: James Gregory, BBC News, https://rb.gy/s3o9ks
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Refused Asylum Seekers Also at Risk of Being Sent to Rwanda
Tens of thousands of people who have been refused asylum in the UK have been added to the group of people at risk of being forcibly removed to Rwanda, the Home Office has announced.
The UK and Rwandan governments have agreed a deal to extend the cohort of those eligible to be forcibly removed to the east African country to refused asylum seekers. Lawyers have condemned the development and said it would drive asylum seekers underground.
According to government data, in 2023 there were 24,310 refusals of asylum claims and 24,027 withdrawals. Both groups are now at risk of being forcibly relocated to Rwanda. It is unclear in the latest guidance what period of refused asylum claims the government is looking at for forcible removal to Rwanda.
Read more: Diane Taylor, Guardian, https://shorturl.at/bzIN6
Provisions of ‘UK Illegal Migration Act' Must be Disapplied in Northern Ireland
Mr Justice Humphreys, sitting in the High Court in Belfast, today Monday 13th may. ordered the disapplication of provisions of the Illegal Migration Act 2023 in Northern Ireland and declared others to be incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights.
The judge found that several elements of the Act do cause a “significant” diminution of the rights enjoyed by asylum seekers residing in Northern Ireland under the terms of the Belfast Agreement.
“I have found that there is a relevant diminution of right in each of the areas relied upon by the applicants. The applicants’ primary submission therefore succeeds. Each of the statutory provisions under consideration infringes the protection afforded to RSE (Rights, Safeguards and Equality of Opportunity) in the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement.”
Read more: Irish Times, https://shorturl.at/moxN8
Read the full judgement: High Court Northern Ireland
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Illegal Migration Act 2023
The Illegal Migration Act changes the law so that those who arrive in the UK 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.
The act aims to:
Put a stop to illegal migration into the UK by removing the incentive to make dangerous small boat crossings
Speed up the removal of those with no right to be here - in turn this will free up capacity so that the UK can better support those in genuine need of asylum through safe and legal routes
Prevent people who come to the UK through illegal and dangerous journeys from misusing modern slavery safeguards to block their removal
Ensure that the UK continues to support those in genuine need by committing to resettle a specific number of the most vulnerable refugees in the UK every year
Thousands of Care Workers Risk Deportation After Employers Breach Rules
The UK government’s visa system, introduced to tackle a dire workforce shortage in the care sector, has left thousands of migrant workers without a job and facing the prospect of having to leave the country. Some have been cheated out of their life savings.
That’s because 122 care companies had their licence revoked in 2022 and 2023, meaning that 3,000 care workers whose visa depended on sponsorship from these employers were left high and dry. Companies have their licence removed when they have broken the rules. But while they don’t face further consequences, the workers depending on their sponsorship face losing everything. The Home Office told us it was working with the care sector to help workers find alternative jobs if their sponsor has lost its licence.
The revelation is the latest in our series exposing the human toll of chaotic and unworkable government policies aimed at enticing people from overseas to move to the UK to do the jobs others won’t. While the employers and recruiters stand to make good money out of the system, the people who give up their livelihoods in their home countries are often exploited, scammed and, ultimately, forced to leave the UK
Read more: Bureau of Investigative Journalism, https://shorturl.at/rBHK2
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