Migration news roundup 10 April 2023

• 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

British-Kurdish comedian Kae Kurd announces a show in Leeds, with his comedy drawing on his experiences as a refugee and ‘growing up Kurdish in the UK’. (Source: Yorkshire Evening Post)

Holbeck Moor FC Women's is the first women’s football club of Sanctuary. Hear from the club’s ambassador and the coach in this interview. (Sources: Square Ball, BBC Sounds)

Sheffield community centre that focuses on providing refugees and people seeking asylum with information, support and advice, was allocated funding that will pay for the salaries of five people for the coming three years. (Source: The Star)

Read about some great examples of refugee led media initiatives enabling refugee communities to control their own narratives. (Source: International Journalists’ Network)

Ryyan Alshebl, who arrived in Germany in 2015 because of the war in Syria, has been elected as the mayor in a village in the south-west of the country. One of his priorities is to make digital access to public administration services available. (Source: the Guardian)

International news

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) rescued 440 migrants on a fishing boat in international waters near Malta. The group, who set off from Libya, were taken to Italy which is experiencing an increase in sea migration from North Africa. In another geopolitical context, calls grow to end the U.S-Canada asylum pact after the death of eight people trying to cross over into Canada. (Source: Reuters)

A new report shines light on the range of barriers people of North African ancestry face in accessing France’s labour market. (Source: Morocco World News)

UK borders and migration policy

The statistics watchdog hit back at the government for giving inaccurate, exaggerated numbers to the public on the asylum backlog it inherited from Labour’s government in 2010. Meanwhile, this briefing explores causes and consequences of the asylum backlog. (Sources: the Guardian, Migration Observatory)

On asylum policy:

• This Free Movement article explores how the Illegal Migration Bill might breach the Refugee Convention.
• The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) have produced a new series of briefings in response to the Bill.
• This briefing examines policies designed to deter asylum arrivals.

(Sources: Free Movement, UNHCR, Migration Observatory)

In an interview, the Home Secretary refused to commit to ending small boat Channel crossings this year. Despite the government’s focus on Albanians, figures reveal they only make up 5% of small boats arrivals this year. (Sources: Politics Home, Daily Mail)

The Home Secretary also declined to promise that removals to Rwanda will begin by the summer. She reiterated that the courts have found Rwanda a safe country for refugees despite contrary evidence from the UN. (Sources: the Guardian, BBC News)

Sweden has removed over 1,100 British nationals since Brexit for failing to regularise their status, the highest of any EU country. (Source: the Guardian)

A London NHS trust has received criticism after it threatened to report striking employees who are in the UK on an immigration visa, to the Home Office. (Source: BBC News)

Specific migrant groups

A new Home Office factsheet on asylum accommodation sites is available outlining new funding for local authorities, and states a draft statutory instrument has been laid as part  of plans to remove HMO (House of Multiple Occupation) licensing rules from applying to asylum accommodation. (Sources: Home Office, UK Legislation)

The Home Office announced the use of a barge as asylum accommodation in Dorset for up to 500 single males seeking asylum. The idea hasn’t gone down well with locals and there’s suggestions it could face legal action. (Sources: Home Office, the Guardian, BBC News)

A new report reveals the negative impacts on people seeking asylum housed at Napier Barracks and calls for the Home Office to permanently close the site. (Source: Jesuit Refugee Service)

The National Age Assessment Board (NAAB) has launched, and is beginning a phased rollout, while government confirms the use of scientific methods as part of reforming age assessments. This article shares findings on the national crisis faced by local authorities with securing appropriate placement for children. (Sources: Home Office, Independent, the Guardian)

International students have emphasised the importance of accessing life essentials such as housing and banking, urging university leaders to reassess labels put on students. (Source: Pie News)

Cohesion and integration

This article explores the concept coined by health researcher Arline Geronimus ‘weathering’ – the impact on physical and mental health on individuals living in a racist world. (Source: the Guardian)

An independent report finds that every fire brigade in England is ‘plagued’ by bullying, harassment, discrimination, while here is the story of a London firefighter, who took his own life after experiencing racism at work. (Source: the Guardian)

Here is an insight into far-right activity and the use of misinformation for radicalisation from two former activists, now working for a charity helping others to escape extremism. (Source: The Mirror)