Status Now 4 All

August 4, 2020August 4, 2020

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.

July 23, 2020July 23, 2020

YOU ARE THE BAGONG BAYANI: YOU DESERVE TO BE SAFE

“I was working in the UK as a domestic worker. Things were hard.” Watch this video to hear Leila’s story, from https://www.stopthetraffik.org/

July 3, 2020July 3, 2020

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 …]

July 1, 2020November 2, 2020

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:

June 30, 2020July 13, 2020

PAIH: Deadly accommodation crisis for Glasgow’s hotel asylum seekers & Refugees for Justice Manifesto

From one of our co-signatories: DEADLY ACCOMMODATION CRISIS FOR GLASGOW’S HOTEL ASYLUM SEEKERS – WE DEMAND A PUBLIC INQUIRY

In his response yesterday to an urgent question from Alison Thewliss MP about support for asylum seekers, Chris Philip MP, Home Office Minister stated that

“among those people accommodated in hotels there has not been a single confirmed case of coronavirus and therefore the steps taken to to safeguard the public and safeguard the asylum seekers in particular, have been successful.”

Mr Philps failed to mention that no-one had been tested, or acknowledge that asylum seekers in the hotels had complained of being denied medical attention and being confined to their rooms. He also failed to acknowledge that the mentally ill asylum seeker who attacked six people including a police officer in the Park Inn Hotel in Glasgow was reported to be isolating from suspected Covid 19 and had been confined for 20 days in one of the hotels.

Mr Philp’s argument seemed to be ” it turned out good so we must have done something right”.

June 26, 2020May 17, 2021

Please ask your MP to support EDM #658.

We have an urgent request: the call for Status Now for All is being carried into Parliament in an Early Day Motion – EDM #658 as follows:

EDM #658 – LEAVE TO REMAIN STATUS

That this House notes that there are currently an unknown number of persons in the UK who are not citizens of the UK and who do not at present have leave to remain in this country, who lack any entitlement to support from the state and are therefore entirely without funds to feed, clothe and house themselves and their families and who are unable to comply with government guidance on self-isolation and social distancing; and considers it essential that the government takes immediate action to ensure that leave to remain in the United Kingdom is granted to all such persons who are within the UK but are not citizens, irrespective of their nationality or immigration status, so that they can access healthcare, food and housing to enable them to adhere to government advice on social distancing, and to ensure the health of themselves and their families as well as helping protect the health of all of us.

June 24, 2020November 13, 2021

Homelessness returning: SNN restates our call

Housing: As the Government announces further lockdown relaxation measures, SNN is receiving reports from the length and breadth of the UK which are indicating that the State intends – it may have already begun – to evict people previously homeless, or in short term NASS accommodation, back into destitution. SNN condemns any such intention or action and restates our call for housing healthcare and food for all: only collective action, based in reality rather than ideology, may enable rational planning for effective pandemic management in the future.

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Inside Housing: 23.6.2020 Charities warn hundreds of asylum seekers are at risk of homelessness as Home Office ends eviction ban

The government has begun the process of evicting hundreds of refugees from Home Office accommodation after deciding not to extend its ban on asylum seeker evictions, Inside Housing can reveal.

June 24, 2020February 10, 2021

Coronavirus: London’s undocumented workers could be among the most vulnerable in society

24 June 2020: BBC: There are an estimated one million undocumented workers in the UK. The coronavirus pandemic has presented them with a new set of challenges and fears over how to maintain an income, remain healthy or even stay alive.

[…] As the lockdown eases across England, charities have said they fear London’s undocumented workers could be among the most vulnerable in society.

June 24, 2020November 13, 2021

Homelessness returning: SNN restates our call for housing, healthcare and food for all

StatusNow logo

24 June 2020: Housing: As the Government announces further lockdown relaxation measures, SNN is receiving reports from the length and breadth of the UK which are indicating that the State intends – it may have already begun – to evict people previously homeless, or in short term NASS accommodation, back into destitution. SNN condemns any such intention or action and restates our call for housing healthcare and food for all: only collective action, based in reality rather than ideology, may enable rational planning for effective pandemic management in the future.

June 24, 2020July 13, 2020

What, if Any, Legal Liability Does the UK Government Have For Deaths Caused by Covid-19?

Henry Blaxland Q.C, Garden Court Chambers: What, if Any, Legal Liability Does the UK Government Have For Deaths Caused by Covid-19?
‘The government has faced sustained criticism of many aspects of its handling of the pandemic. Central to that criticism has been the question of whether the government’s decision making has made the requirement to protect life secondary to economic considerations. What has to be faced is the shockingly high fatality rate in the United Kingdom among care home residents and those working on the front-line, including transport workers. That in itself establishes a prima facie case against those responsible for making critical decisions as the pandemic has engulfed us. All the indications are, however, that any question of legal liability at a governmental level will be firmly resisted’

June 24, 2020July 13, 2020

A chance to feel safe: Precarious Filipino migrants amid the UK’s coronavirus outbreak

Kanlungan Filipino Consortium: We have officially launched our report on precarious Filipino migrants amid the UK’s coronavirus outbreak. Our report focuses on the impact of the coronavirus outbreak and associated ‘lockdown’ in the UK on Filipino precarious migrants (a majority undocumented). The report finds that the systematic disenfranchisement of migrants through the “hostile environment” agenda has exacerbated the negative effects of the pandemic and lockdown on this group. The coronavirus pandemic has intensified and highlighted the deadly effects of the hostile environment. But it also reveals the life threatening inequalities that already existed before the outbreak.

Executive Summary: “Give a chance for all [those] without papers, like me, to feel safe” –Shane’s message to policy-makers

This report documents the impact of the coronavirus outbreak and associated ‘lockdown’ in the UK on Filipino precarious migrants (a majority undocumented). It is based on research conducted in May and June 2020, including an online survey with 78 respondents, and 15 follow-up interviews.