Migration news roundup 19 December 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

‘When migrants succeed, everybody succeeds’ says this article from the UN Development Programme, which uses the example of Morocco’s success at the World Cup with a squad predominantly of European born players of Moroccan descent. (Source: UNDP)

Asylum seeker volunteers are coppicing as part of a conservation project led by Nidderdale AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty). (Source: Harrogate Advertiser)

Our Refugee Integration Service partner Solidaritech is appealing for tech donations for refugees this Christmas. (Source: Yorkshire Voice)

International news

The EU is providing Turkey a funding package of €220 million as part of measures to control EU-bound migration. (Source: Middle East Monitor)

This article highlights the increasing number of deaths of Ethiopian migrants along southern African routes in recent years, with an incident in Zambia prompting investigation from Ethiopian authorities. (Source: Al Jazeera)

UK borders and migration policy

The day before a tragedy where at least four people lost their lives after a small boat capsized in the Channel, the Prime Minister announced various measures on asylum including:

• New legislation to prevent people arriving via irregular routes from claiming asylum.
• Increasing the number of caseworkers to clear a backlog of 92,000 asylum claims by the end of 2023. (Relatedly, this article highlights the average wait for an asylum appeal is over a year).
• Measures to house people seeking asylum in currently unoccupied military sites, student halls and holiday parks rather than hotels.
• New case worker guidance presenting Albania as a safe country, alongside plans to fast-track returns, and a requirement for evidence for modern slavery claims. Separately, a Home Office report from a fact-finding mission looking at Albanian trafficking was published and relevant Country Policy guidance was updated, highlighting risk factors in the country like high levels of poverty and the stigma attached to trafficking which can increase the risk of re-trafficking. A joint UK-Albania communique on trafficking was also published.

Here’s the full House of Commons statement and some analysis of the proposals. (Sources: BBC, Free Movement, UK Visas and Immigration, Home Office)

The Migration Advisory Committee’s annual report was published (the key points are summarised here) - includes concerns about ways the immigration system can increase the risk of exploitation. (Sources: Migration Advisory Committee, Free Movement)

A new briefing calls for mechanisms to ensure migrant workers can report exploitative employment practices without fear of having their information shared with immigration enforcement. (Source: Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants)

Labour shortages on daffodil farms highlight operational problems with the seasonal worker visa scheme, for which the Immigration Minister apologised. (Source: BBC)

Specific migrant groups

New funding policy was announced regarding the Homes for Ukraine Scheme including monthly thank you payments to hosts with longer term guests rising to £500, additional funding for councils to prevent homelessness and secure housing stock for those fleeing conflicts, but a decreasing payment to councils per Ukrainian arrival. (Source: Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

In ‘Safety before status’, a report to parliament, the Domestic Abuse Commissioner recommends reforms to the domestic violence route to ensure more migrants with no recourse to public funds are able to access support and protection more effectively as well as regularise their immigration status. (Source: Domestic Abuse Commissioner)

Police are concerned that organised crime gangs are targeting people including unaccompanied asylum seeking children housed in hotels and children’s homes. Meanwhile, a teenager was among those who died in the Channel, with 12 unaccompanied children rescued from the capsized boat. (Sources: The National, Sky)

Next year individuals who gained teaching qualifications abroad, including in Ukraine and Hong Kong, will be able to apply for a qualified teacher status to teach in the UK. A new recognition service will provide consistency in requirements and be open to qualified teachers from any country, starting with nine countries where there are significant numbers of teachers already in the UK. (Source: Department for Education)

Some Chinese consulate staff have left the UK following the recent incident in Manchester when a protester from Hong Kong was assaulted on consulate grounds. (Source: BBC)

Cohesion and integration

East London inter-generational stories of communities from the Caribbean and Africa, including struggles with institutional racism, are portrayed in this photo exhibition about Dalston’s Gillett Square. (Source: the Guardian)

As a German coup attempt was uncovered recently, the far-right threat - globally and in the UK - is explored in this article highlighting that the UK police confirmed 41% of extremism arrests in 2021 had far-right suspects. (Source: the Guardian)

Albanian migrants have been receiving a lot of negative attention recently. These Albanian artists shine a light on the history of Albanian migration, ‘home’ and ‘belonging’. (Source: The Conversation)