Month: May 2024

19 May 2024: Guardian: Fears of new Windrush as thousands of UK immigrants face ‘cliff edge’ visa change

Campaigners say move to electronic permits by end of the year is a ‘recipe for disaster’ that could leave immigrants without proof of status

Lawyers and migrant rights campaigners have warned that the government is heading for a repeat of the Windrush scandal after imposing a “cliff edge” deadline for immigrants to switch to new digital visas.

By the end of this year an estimated 500,000 or more non-EU immigrants with leave to remain in the UK will need to replace their physical biometric residence permits (BRPs) – which demonstrate proof of their right to reside, rent, work and claim benefits – with digital e-visas.

In order to access their e-visa, people will need to open a UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) digital account. The Home Office has recently emailed invitations for a trial group of BRP holders to open digital accounts, but as many migrants used their solicitors’ email address as their Home Office contact, many have gone to lawyers rather than the immigrants themselves.

Continue reading “Fears of new Windrush as thousands of UK immigrants face ‘cliff edge’ visa change”

13 May 2024: Irish Times: UK Rwanda deportation law provisions should not apply in Northern Ireland, judge rules

High Court finds measures in UK government’s legislation undermine human rights protections guaranteed under post-Brexit arrangements

Mr Justice Humphreys delivered judgment at Belfast High Court on Monday in two challenges against the Act that focused on the peace process human rights protections guaranteed by the Windsor Framework.

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.

Continue reading “‘Safety of Rwanda’ Bill”

Thanks to John O for this information: 2 May 2024: Regret: Statement of Changes to Immigration Rules

Lord Oates: That this House regrets the Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules (HC 556), published on 19 February, in particular, the provisions preventing overseas care workers from bringing family to the United Kingdom, as this will

(1) deprive migrant care workers of the basic right of caring for their own children,

(2) increase workers’ dependency on their sponsors by removing the safety net of a Toggle showing location of partner’s income, and

(3) make it harder for workers to report and change sponsors, increasing the risk of exploitation.

Before I go into further detail on this point, I express particular regret at the notion that carers arriving in the UK will no longer be able to bring their children with them. This troubles me deeply. We are asking care workers to care for our loved ones, but we are denying them the right to do the same in respect of their own children and partners. 

Continue reading “Regret: Statement of Changes to Immigration Rules”

From our signatory organisation RAPAR:

1 May 2024: RAPAR Members from around the globe have put together their statement making explicit the relationship between the colonialist forces that lie behind the exploitation and oppression in their home countries that have led to them having to flee – from Congo, Zimbabwe, Iran, Eritrea, Bangladesh, Côte d’Ivoire, Afghanistan, Iraq, Sierra Leone and Cameroon to name but a few – and the Imperialist forces directly and indirectly responsible for the current genocide being carried out in Gaza. 

Launching the hashtag #Refugees4Palestine, RAPAR stands alongside British trade unionists and community-based organisations calling for a #FreePalestine and to #StopArmingIsreal. 

Continue reading “#Refugees4Palestine join Workers’ May Day calls across the UK to #StopArmingIsreal”