Migration news roundup 07 April 2025

View of Houses of Parliament from bridge over river Thames

 

This Migration News Roundup presents a selection of news, policy, research and statistics from the previous week on migration-related topics. The contents of each story do not necessarily reflect the views of Migration Yorkshire.

 

Specific migrant groups

News on asylum includes:

On children and young people, a new report discusses the complexities of risk that affect children in care who are placed in supported accommodation, of which 45% are unaccompanied asylum-seeking children. Meanwhile, the British Association of Social Workers is calling members to contact their MP to support amendments to the Borders Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill. The proposed changes include closing the National Age Assessment Board and placing the responsibility of age assessment back into local authorities’ control. (Sources: Anna Freud, BASW, UK Parliament)

It’s been 10 years since the Modern Slavery Act (2015). This article considers how effective it has been, calling for a preventative approach and stronger action to tackle supply chain issues. Also on modern slavery, this guide relating to trafficking between Romania and the UK is aimed at enforcement agencies and includes information about ‘Romanian culture’. (Sources: Modern Slavery Policy and Evidence Centre, University of Nottingham Rights Lab)

An investigation has revealed details of scams used by rogue recruitment agents to trick overseas care workers into paying thousands of pounds to secure non-existent jobs in the UK. (Source: BBC)

The Independent Monitoring Authority (IMA) has launched a survey for EU nationals on life in the UK following the end of free movement. (Source: IMA)

Following a legal challenge and freedom of information request, a campaigner discovered the Home Office spent three years and at least £22,000 on legal fees alone to prevent publication of an internal Windrush report suggesting reasons behind the Windrush scandal are embedded in racist immigration legislation (the report in question was leaked back in 2022). (Source: the Guardian)

 

UK borders and migration policy

The UK government hosted an Organised Immigration Crime Summit attended by representatives from over 40 countries, as well as social media companies. Keir Starmer reiterated his view that this issue should be treated in a similar way to terrorism. Prior to the meeting, funding was announced to help the Border Security Command disrupt smuggling activity. (Source: BBC)

Ahead of the summit, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced that government would review the application of human rights law to immigration cases, which includes using the right to family life as a basis for staying in the UK. The Attorney General, while supporting the review, drew attention to misinformation relating to how the right to family and private life has been applied. (Sources: the Guardian, Independent)

Updated enforcement figures show since last July over 24,000 people without the right to stay in the UK have been returned. Of these, over 6,300 were enforced returns and nearly 6,800 related to asylum claims. (Source: Prime Minister’s Office)

The Home Office published provisional data indicating that enforcement activity relating to illegal employment has increased. Relatedly, ‘gig economy’ employers, such as food delivery companies, will be required to check workers’ immigration status. (Source: Home Office)

 

Cohesion and integration

New measures in the Crime and Policing Bill will allow police to better protect places of worship during protests. The changes come following the recent protests near synagogues and the increase in religious hate crime. The new powers will also cover the National Holocaust memorial. In addition, Government is creating a fund to help monitor and support victims of anti-Muslim hate. (Sources: WIREDGOV, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Long term survey data on attitudes towards immigration from across the UK and Europe shows the UK is among the countries with the least anti-immigration views in Europe. (Source: The Conversation)

 

International news

A US federal judge in California has ordered the Trump administration to temporarily reinstate funding for legal services for unaccompanied migrant children. Organisations can continue providing legal representation to vulnerable minors until 16 April. (Source: NPR)

Pakistan announced plans to expel approximately three million Afghan nationals this year as part of a broader crackdown on irregular migration. The Taliban criticised the unilateral move, urging a dignified and mutually agreed-upon return process. (Source: AP News)

The Italian government has enacted two decrees, one to expand the use of asylum processing centres in Albania to return people who were refused asylum in Italy (the centres were designed solely for people rescued at sea), and the other to limit automatic citizenship for Italians born abroad. Meanwhile, Germany is starting deportation processes against foreign nationals, including EU and US citizens, for participating in pro-Palestine demonstrations. (Sources: euronews, the Guardian)

 

Stories that inspired us this week

A book review describes 'The Alienation Effect: How Central European Émigrés Transformed the British Twentieth Century,' which explores the impact that people who fled Nazism in the 1930s had in shaping British culture in many ways, including their contribution in philosophy, art and architecture. (Source: The New Statesman)

An art exhibition opened in Sheffield showcasing work created by refugees, including Sawsan Hamidi, a 22-year-old from Syria. She arrived in the UK in June last year and shares how the city has become a home away from home for her. (Source: The Star)

Contact us about research

If you have any questions about our research, contact us:
research@migrationyorkshire.org.uk
0113 378 8188