Coverage of yesterday’s SUTR demonstration

25.8.2020: Express and Star: Pro-migrant demonstrators accuse Government of ‘vilifying’ asylum seekers

Dozens of pro-migrant demonstrators have accused the Government of “dehumanising and vilifying” asylum seekers at a protest outside the Home Office.

The demonstration on Tuesday evening, organised by campaign group Stand Up To Racism, demanded that the right of safe passage be given to “desperate” migrants making the crossing between England and France.

Continue reading “Coverage of yesterday’s SUTR demonstration”

PRESS RELEASE: The Status Now Network unconditionally condemns the actions of Members of Britain First

StatusNow logo

29.8.2020: The Status Now Network unconditionally condemns the actions of Members of Britain First, a British, Fascist  political organisation formed in 2011 by former members of the British National Party. Britain First members have filmed people seeking asylum placed in hotels through the Government’s sub-contracted asylum system, and are now using their film, includes inflammatory words and phrases commentary, to ferment their anti-immigration stance.

Through its contract with The AASC providers – Serco, Clearsprings and Mears Group the Home Office has an inescapable duty of care towards these people seeking asylum.  The AASC providers  are subcontracting to, for example, Brittania Hotels and Holiday Inn but they retain responsibility for the care of the people in the hotels and they must immediately demonstrate that care.

Continue reading “PRESS RELEASE: The Status Now Network unconditionally condemns the actions of Members of Britain First”

Mercy Baguma living in ‘extreme poverty’ found dead next to her malnourished baby boy

StatusNow logo

From the heart:
How many more people will this Government kill? Mercy Baguma is the latest victim in the growing number of people who have died at the hand of the inhumane and immoral “hostile environment” policy instituted by this Government against refugees and migrants. 

Organisations in the Status Now Network are witnessing every day the desperation and destitution caused by this policy which has been intensified by COVID-19 pandemic.

We are currently supporting hundreds of men, women and children, who have been made impoverished and destitute because of these punitive and draconian immigration policies. These include 15 Filipino women who are pregnant or with young children, who are destitute and impoverished because they have no recourse to public funds and nor are they allowed to  work. Instead they are relying on the support of a small community organisations to survive.

We call for the regularisation of these vulnerable people. 

We hold the Government responsible for Mercy’s death and the destitution and suffering of hundreds of other women like Mercy Baguma who are undocumented in the UK, and their children.  

Continue reading “Mercy Baguma living in ‘extreme poverty’ found dead next to her malnourished baby boy”

Claudia Webbe: I stand in full solidarity with all those exercising their legal right to claim asylum

25 August 2020: “The attacks on asylum seekers at the Bromsgrove Hotel are disgraceful, and I stand in full solidarity with all those who are exercising their legal right to claim asylum.

“Britain First and other hate groups represent the very worst of our country. They must be not be given any platform to legitimise their vile anti-migrant discourse.

Continue reading “Claudia Webbe: I stand in full solidarity with all those exercising their legal right to claim asylum”

Yemeni asylum seeker found dead in Manchester hotel room

23 August 2020: Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah Alhabib arrived in UK in June after crossing Channel in boat

A man who fled war-torn Yemen, made a difficult journey to Europe and two months ago survived a Channel crossing in a flimsy boat has been found dead in a Manchester hotel room.

Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah Alhabib 41, was found dead on 6 August in a room where he had been placed by the Home Office after arriving in Dover on 11 June seeking asylum.

Continue reading “Yemeni asylum seeker found dead in Manchester hotel room”

What Happens To Precarious Migrants And Asylum Seekers During This Pandemic?

Furaha Asani : A few days ago, journalists from the BBC and Sky News attempted to obtain live interviews with migrants making their way across the English Channel in dhingies. The journalists, safe aboard their own boats, extended microphones over the edge of their boats in the direction of the dhingies. Social media fired up, with many voices speaking both for and against migrants alighting on the British shore. Poll results released around the same time in the United Kingdom showed that nearly half of the respondents had little to no sympathy for migrants who were crossing the channel from France to England.

Mere months ago there was global panic, clearing out shop aisles of food and toiletries and indulging in war rhetoric all in a bid to stay safe and healthy. Covid-19 and its ensuing lockdown gave everyone a taste of instability. Yet the conversation around migration shows reserved empathy with migrants fleeing whatever instability they have left behind.

In this pandemic, for those who have access to healthcare services—and importantly the funds for these services where they are not free—there at least exists the assurance that support is on hand should it be needed. Amongst various marginalized and vulnerable groups, those with immigration hardship often have limited healthcare access for reasons ranging from no funds, to language barriers, and fear of being detained and deported. In the words of Professor Raj Bhopal of the University of Edinburgh, undocumented migrants often live “in the shadows of society, fearful of authority, and with little access to services, which are mostly provided by the voluntary sector.” 

Precarious and undocumented migrants and asylum seekers are therefore multiply marginalized within this pandemic: they likely live with trauma from situations they fled from, they face the virus (just like everyone else), they face instability on the shores they land on, and potential anti-immigrant (and in many cases outright racist) sentiments within those lands.

[Read more here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/furahaasani/2020/08/23/what-happens-to-precarious-migrants-and-asylum-seekers-during-this-pandemic/ ]

Cruel and unsafe to resume evictions and in-person reporting

StatusNow logo

21 August 2020: In a last minute U-turn, the UK Government has been pressured to extend the ban on evictions of renters that had been planned to end this coming Sunday, 23 August. This means that from September 20th onwards people who rent will no longer have any of the emergency protections, put in place by the UK Government when COVID-19 first emerged in the spring of this year, that banned evictions across England and Wales. Without this protection, the spectre of mass evictions and a further surge in homelessness looms.

Among the millions of people facing severe financial difficulty, hundreds of thousands of renters are reported to now face eviction threats and homelessness.  In spite of temporary measures that were introduced to support some, systemic government failures that existed before COVID-19 are leaving people acutely vulnerable.

Continue reading “Cruel and unsafe to resume evictions and in-person reporting”

Yarl’s Wood: Women no longer held as centre repurposed for Channel migrants

Responding to a change in the operations of Yarl’s Wood detention centre, Claudia Webbe, Member of Parliament for Leicester East, said:

“I am delighted that one chapter of the brutal history of Yarl’s Wood seems to be ending, and I wholeheartedly congratulate the many activists and survivors for their victory.

“Yarl’s Wood has come to be synonymous with the violent, institutionalised racism and sexism that has been hardwired into our immigration system. The strength and bravery of those who are in or have left detention is a source of constant inspiration and are living proof that – together – we can build a fairer world.

Continue reading “Yarl’s Wood: Women no longer held as centre repurposed for Channel migrants”

Doubling up the desire to punish

StatusNow logo

The fact that some of the 285 people (268 men, 17 women) deported to Eastern Europe by the British Government during the COVID-19 restrictions (April –June 2020) had spent criminal convictions – including a mother who had served a six month sentence and was separated from her 11 year old son – is a clear demonstration of the deep cynicism that is in line with both the UK Government’s indifference towards people with insecure immigration status, and their desire to doubly punish people who have fallen through the cracks of the legal system by stripping them off their right to remain.  

The fact that this deportation process cost £1,105,931, involved 374 immigration officers, and did not offer a single test to any person being deported, is further proof of the Government’s preparedness to place marginalised people, alongside those employed to deport them, and everyone they subsequently come across when they land – at risk of infection. 

This latest injustice, underlining as it does the fact that there is neither a rational public health approach towards the health and safety of the population as a whole or towards people with insecure status in particular, only reinforces the Status Now Network’s commitment to StatusNow4All. 

Migrant Rights Centre Ireland raises concern

12 August 2020: ‘Definitely undocumented workers in meat sector who may not have a PPS number’ – Migrant Rights Centre

The Migrant Rights Centre Ireland (MRCI) has said that there are “definitely undocumented workers in the meat sector who may not have access to a PPSN [Personal Public Service Number]”.

Following concerns raised by trade union SIPTU over sick pay for workers in meat factories in Ireland, the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection has said that, under its department, all workers are entitled to claim the Covid-19 Illness Benefit payment, irrelevant as to whether a company has a sick pay scheme or not.

Continue reading “Migrant Rights Centre Ireland raises concern”

Claudia Webbe MP calls for end to NRPF status

12 August 2020 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Claudia Webbe MP calls for end to NRPF status

Claudia Webbe, Member of Parliament for Leicester East, has today written to Priti Patel, Secretary of State for Home Affairs, urging the government, as the UK faces the greatest ever recession, to end the No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) immigration status.

The letter (attached) draws attention to the fact that recent Home Office statistics show that the number of migrants with NRPF applying for destitution funds dramatically increased by 572% during the coronavirus crisis.

Continue reading “Claudia Webbe MP calls for end to NRPF status”

Irish Refugee Council criticises safety standards for asylum centres

Irish Times: 8.8.2020: Half of people in direct provision ‘unable’ to social distance

A sign at the entrance to a direct provision centre in Co Kildare that suffered a Covid-19 outbreak. File photograph: Colin Keegan/CollinsShare to FacebookShare to TwitterShare to Email App

Half of people living in direct provision have been unable to social distance from other residents during the Covid-19 pandemic, while more than 40 per cent continue to share a room with a non-family member, according to new research seen by The Irish Times.

The Irish Refugee Council’s (IRC) Powerless report, which examines the experiences of direct provision residents during the pandemic, says asylum seekers are suffering “fear and trepidation” because of their “inability to control” their health and safety during the pandemic.

The call to end direct provision has become “more compelling than ever” in the context of the pandemic, the council says. The new Government has committed to ending the system.

Two levels of safety standards have been created during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to IRC chief executive Nick Henderson. “One for the general public, where social distancing is encouraged, and another for people in residential settings such as direct provision, where sharing of intimate space is implicitly accepted.” …

Read more here: https://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/half-of-people-in-direct-provision-unable-to-social-distance-1.4324955

Home Office to stop using racist visa algorithm

JCWI: 4 August 2020 We won! Home Office to stop using racist visa algorithm

We are delighted to announce that the Home Office has agreed to scrap its ‘visa streaming’ algorithm, in response to legal action we launched with tech-justice group Foxglove.

From Friday, 7 August, Home Secretary Priti Patel will suspend the “visa streaming” algorithm “pending a redesign of the process,” which will consider “issues around unconscious bias and the use of nationality” in automated visa applications.

Continue reading “Home Office to stop using racist visa algorithm”

We have a struggle to win and a life to live.

4.8.2020: Inquirer: Filipino playwright seeks asylum, receives prestigious UK theater grant

In his London flat, Rogelio Braga was busy typing on his laptop, in between answering emails, queries, and interviews from his caseworker. Rogelio was writing a play entitled Miss Philippines. No, it is not about statuesque beauties whose feet barely touched the earth. It is about real women, lesbian, and transgender women, barely surviving the life in the slums under Duterte’s war on drugs.

It is the same play he submitted to the Yellow Earth Theater earlier in 2020 and has been awarded £2000 seed commissions to develop new plays as part of the Professional Writers Programme 2020-22.

Continue reading “We have a struggle to win and a life to live.”

FammzTV: call for amnesty for undocumented people

There are a number of calls for Leave to Remain in relation to people who are undocumented and in UK.

As a reminder, Status Now 4 All calls for Leave to Remain to be given to all undocumented migrants and those in the legal process. Status Now does not accept the term ‘illegal immigrant’.

This person has written to Boris Johnson and others, and will be outside 10 Downing Street on Saturday 8 August 2020 to press his point. He invites others to join him https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZNE-eoem6E. See his call, and the Government response to his petition below:


Fammztv@FAMMZTV Gathering at Number 10 Downing street London on Saturday 8th August 2020 13.00 to 15.00…. https://youtu.be/-_80_KPw_Pg | Hindi/Urdu | FAMMZ TV

Continue reading “FammzTV: call for amnesty for undocumented people”