Migration news roundup 10 October 2022

• Stories that inspired us this week
• International news
• UK borders and migration policy
• Specific migrant groups
• Cohesion and integration

Stories that inspired us this week

A student from Ukraine shares her experience of being offered a place to study at Bradford University just three months after coming to the UK as a refugee. (Source: Telegraph and Argus)

NGO Refugee Support Europe share their model of delivering aid in Moldova and Cyprus, and how they prioritise giving people choice and a sense of agency. (Source: imix)

International news

President Biden has vowed to welcome 125,000 refugees into the US this fiscal year, about 100,000 more people than last year. This goes beyond the average figure of around 75,000 people resettled annually in the pre-Trump era. (Source: The Hill)

In Europe,

• there are growing calls for the EU to adopt a joint approach towards the thousands of Russians fleeing after President Putin announced reservists would be drafted. (Source: Ruetir)
• EU leaders are due to make new refugee resettlement pledges. A record two million refugees are expected to need resettlement in 2023, a 36% increase on this year. (Source: EU Observer)
• Finally, Angela Merkel is to receive the UNHCR Nansen Refugee Award for her efforts protecting refugees due to her decision to welcome more than 1.2 million refugees from the Syrian conflict to Germany. (Source: Council of Europe)

UK borders and migration policy

Following the week of the Conservative party conference, here is some of the coverage of and comment on Home Secretary Suella Braverman’s plans for immigration policy:

• Ahead of her conference speech Braverman stated there were issues relating to modern slavery victims and international students with dependants, and there would be a ban on claiming asylum for anyone entering the country illegally with the prospect of temporary courts to expedite prosecution and imprisonment. UNHCR opposes the plans. (Sources: the Guardian, Sky News, Daily Mail)
• During the conference Braverman’s speech was light on specific policy announcements. At a fringe event she voiced her ‘dream’ of a flight removing people to Rwanda but accepted this is unlikely in the short term. She spoke of reducing net migration to the tens of thousands, but there is potential tension with the Prime Minister over plans for a trade deal with India which could increase immigration. (Sources: Free Movement, Independent, the Guardian, The Times)
• Braverman expressed a personal view that the UK should withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights. (Source: Independent)

This article by a former Migration Advisory Committee chair considers the link between migration and economic growth. Meanwhile here are some reflections on potential changes to the system for work-based visas. (Sources: London School of Economics, Free Movement)

On migrant Channel crossings:

• This article considers the legalities of this route and concludes that anyone arriving since the publication of guidance at the end of June is likely to be in breach of the law. (Source: Free Movement)
• Whistle blowers have revealed that due to overcrowding at an initial processing centre in Kent, some arrivals have been released without provision of accommodation and without security checks. This has prompted concerns over safeguarding and trafficking risks. (Source: the Guardian)
• This interview with an Iranian man illustrates the desperation of people taking this dangerous journey. (Source: ITV)

On detention and returns, this report considers the increase in the number of modern slavery survivors being detained. The Home Office published an overview of the voluntary returns process and a collection of case studies of people who have returned to their country of origin via this route. (Sources: Helen Bamber Foundation, Home Office)

Specific migrant groups

This article examines why asylum grant rates have gone up in recent years, referencing various factors such as the improved availability of independent country guidance information that could support better quality decision-making. (Source: Free Movement)

A Refugee Council report on age assessments highlights the problem of children being wrongly assessed as over 18 by the Home Office and subsequently placed in adult asylum accommodation. (Source: Refugee Council)

The Home Secretary has claimed many Albanians are falsely claiming to be modern slavery victims, prompting an independent review of Home Office guidance on Albania which will be published in November. This article critiques recently updated guidance relating to Albanian blood feuds. (Sources: Independent, Free Movement)

The Home Office funding for organisations supporting EU nationals with applications under the EU Settlement Scheme ended on 30 September. It is unclear if any further funding will become available for this group. (Source: Home Office)

On Hong Kong British Nationals Overseas, new figures from the Department for Education for end of August show over 13,000 applications for school places, an increase of nearly 2,000 applications since the previous data release in July. Leeds remains a top city in our region followed by North Yorkshire. (Source: Department for Education)

Cohesion and integration

This report calls for a new national refugee policy for Britain, advising that the UK needs a whole government approach to deliver effective refugee integration and should allow people who are seeking asylum the right to work from six months after arrival. (Source: Refugee Studies Centre University of Oxford)

This piece explores how best to platform refugee voices in the lead up to next year’s Global Compact on Refugees. (Source: Oxfam)