Migration news roundup 17 February 2025

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.

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

UK borders and migration policy

People with refugee status following a 'dangerous journey' to the UK now have little chance of becoming British citizens, following changes to government guidance that mirror the Illegal Migration Act. Previously, citizenship would be a possibility after 10 years since the person entered the UK, and an exception could be made for refugees. Now, people applying for citizenship from 10 February 2025 are likely to be turned down however long they have lived here. (Source: Free Movement)

The Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill had its second reading in the House of Commons with a supporting parliamentary briefing. The same day, government announced nearly 19,000 people have been removed from the UK since last July, the ‘highest rate of returns’ since 2018. Release of anonymised video footage of removal operations has been criticised, including by Labour MPs; likewise the publication of films documenting arrests for illegal working. (Sources: BBC, House of Commons Library, Home Office, the Guardian)

This blog highlights some of the more unusual ‘middle skilled’ occupations eligible for the Skilled Worker visa in the post-Brexit system. (Source: COMPAS)

Specific migrant groups

A survey of over 3,000 people who came to the UK on a Health and Care Worker visa reveals numerous problems such as debt due to agency fees, inadequate pay, poor living conditions, racism, and threats of dismissal and deportation. Several participants from Yorkshire and Humber are quoted in the report, which recommends government should sponsor workers instead of employers. (Source: Unison)

Prime Minister’s Questions was dominated by the news of a Palestinian family that was granted the right to live in the UK through the Ukrainian Family Scheme. Both sides of the house criticised the decision, described by the Prime Minister as a ‘legal loophole’ that needed to be closed. (Source: the Guardian)

On asylum:

• It’s been confirmed that 51 asylum seekers died in the care of the Home Office last year, a twelvefold increase since 2019. (Source: the Guardian)
• There will be an independent inquiry into alleged mistreatment of asylum seekers at the Manston processing centre, which was cleared in 2022 after reports of overcrowding and disease. (Source: Home Office)  
• A Barnsley truck driver has described taking part in the documentary ‘Go back To Where You came From’ saying the experience had opened his eyes to how lucky he is. (Source: BBC)

This newly-published question and answer session from a legal webinar will be of interest to those working on EU Settlement Scheme cases; the topic was family member applications. (Source: Free Movement)

Cohesion and integration

A survey shows little support for Kemi Badenoch’s proposal that migrants should wait 15 years before they can become citizens, with most favouring up to a five year wait. The survey also shows support for citizenship for those who plan to stay permanently, and for refugees to be able to gain citizenship; all three questions show differing results along party lines. (Source: British Future)

A mural will commemorate the visit of Malcolm X to the West Midlands town of Smethwick in 1965, where he was invited to show solidarity with black and Asian minorities after what’s described as ‘the most racist election campaign’ seen in the UK. The mural will be painted on a pub that had historically refused to serve black customers. (Source: the Guardian)

Writer and journalist Ismail Einashe writes about his experiences arriving as a child refugee in London in the 1990s and the differences between life here and the culture in Addis Ababa. (Source: the Guardian)

International news

Germany is the largest host of Ukrainians with temporary protection across the EU yet, at the same time, Ukrainians are the second largest group of those refused entry at their borders; this article explores why. Professionals who provide therapeutic care to refugees are warning of the effects of the government's increasingly hardline stance against immigration upon migrants living there. (Sources: Eurostat, Euractiv, DW)

The bodies of nearly 50 migrants have been found in two mass graves in southeast Libya, the country being a transit point for people trying to reach Europe. (Source: Al Jazeera)

Stories that inspired us this week

Two exhibitions caught our eye: a photography collection at the Isle of Man Airport highlighting the journeys of refugees and displaced people is on display until March, while you can see a dress handmade by refugees and asylum seekers, at Market Hall Museum in Warwick until late April. (Source: BBC)

In case you missed it: York University shared a powerful story from Dame Stephanie Shirley CH, who was part of the Kindertransport arriving here in 1939, in this year’s Holocaust Memorial Day Public Lecture. (Source: York Vision, 1 hour)