Asylum seekers remain at heightened risk of contracting Covid without stronger action from the Home Office

28 July 2020: Home Affairs Committee publishes a report on Home Office preparedness for Covid-19: institutional accommodation

[Comment: so many issues of concern, for example: the use of immigration detention – renewed call for 28 day limit; strong criticism on many levels of decisions made by housing providers to move people into ‘hotel’ accommodation and take away their personal allowance; the need for proper safeguarding, risk assessment, and impact on mental health in relation to people in multi-occupation accommodation; difficulties experienced in remaining safe in multi-occupation units for people themselves and in relation to others around them – and strong criticism of putting two strangers in one room; lack of provision of internet to enable people to access information, consult GPs etc.; lack of provision of sanitising and other products or increase in allowance to enable people to buy these themselves.]

Please read the summary and conclusions/recommendations below to get some idea of what people in the asylum system have been experiencing.


Status Now for All #healthandsafetyforall … The coronavirus is with us for the long term. If Leave to Remain were given to all undocumented people and those in the legal process, provision would be made to enable them to able to access the services they need, and these problems would not continue going forward.

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Residents of Cahersiveen direct provision centre on hunger strike

Residents are demanding to be moved to other direct provision centres
Residents are demanding to be moved to other direct provision centres

29 July 2020: RTÉ: Around 30 residents of a controversial direct provision centre at Cahersiveen in Co Kerry, say they have begun refusing food, describing their living conditions as inhumane.

They are demanding to be moved to other direct provision centres elsewhere in the country.

The centre is located at the former Skellig Star boutique hotel and was opened in mid-March, when over 100 residents were moved there.

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Early Day Motion: Leave to Remain in UK

Coventry City of Peace and Reconciliation: It is estimated there are around 1 million undocumented workers living in the UK. Because of COVID-19, many of them are now unable to work and, because they are undocumented, they cannot claim government benefits. They are therefore going without food.

Moreover, because they often live in overcrowded conditions they are highly susceptible to COVID-19. Despite government assurances that the NHS does not carry out immigration checks in hospitals, many undocumented workers are nevertheless worried that seeking medical help will result in their being removed from the UK.

For more information see the BBC report Coronavirus: Undocumented workers an ‘invisible public health risk’.

CARAG therefore requests the people of Coventry to ask your MP to sign Early Day Motion EDM #658 – LEAVE TO REMAIN STATUS, the text of which is shown below. There is also the suggested text of a letter. [Read more …]

SNN: Launch event 11 July 2020

The Status Now Network held a webinar event on Saturday 11th July 2020, 4pm to 6pm, to launch the national Status Now Network and the #statusnow4all campaign. There is a recording of the event below, and also videos that were shown at the event

At the end of March the Network called on the British Prime Minister and Irish Taoiseach to grant leave to remain, Status Now, to all undocumented, destitute and migrant people in the legal process in both the UK and Ireland, to ensure their and others’ safety during the Covid-19 pandemic. The open letter to the heads of states has received over 65 organisational signatories, the online petition has gained over 3,700 signatories and counting, and an EDM #658 (early day motion) calling for Leave to Remain has been put down in the UK Parliament.

This launch celebrated the newly-formed Status Now Network with cultural events, and included discussions from people with lived experience of being undocumented, MPs and some of our signatories, conversation and sharing of ideas.

Here are the recordings of the event:

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