Migration news roundup 25 November 2024

• 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

‘Now We Are Here’ is an animated film on experiences of displacement made in collaboration between people who had to flee their homes and artists and producers in South East Northumberland. The film, broadcasted at the local Vue cinema, tells the story of Nader and Solomiya, children who fled their countries due to conflicts. (Source: Chronicle Live) 

Lancashire Youth Challenge’s RESTORE programme, which provides support to young people including refugee teenagers, has been nominated for the national Youth Work Award at the 2024 Children and Young People Now Awards. (Source: Lancashire Guardian) 

Run by the Rotherham United football team’s Community Trust (RUCT), the United 4 Communities (U4C) group has been organising football training sessions for refugees and people seeking asylum in the area. The project has helped newcomers to Britain make friends, feel less isolated, and improve their confidence, health and well-being. (Source: Morning Star) 

A group of women that moved to the UK from Afghanistan in order to seek safety, have been using their sewing skills in order to make incubator covers for premature babies. The group was formed with support from Lancashire County Council’s Refugee Integration Team and Community Interest Company Roots to Branches to support with integration into the local community. (Source: Blackpool Gazette) 

International news

Advocacy groups for Palestinian Canadians have called on Canada to take action in order to help their families escape the ongoing violence in the region. Canada launched a special Gaza visa programme earlier this year, but so far only 5,000 visas have been approved, in contrast with 960,000 emergency visas issued to Ukrainians since the beginning of the war with Russia. Meanwhile, an Australian human rights lawyer accused the Australian government of ‘criminalising immigration’ via the long-term and in some cases indefinite detention of prospective refugees, with the long-term detention averaging eight to 10 years. (Sources: Al Jazeera, the Guardian) 

In Europe, the Spanish government is planning to make the process of applying for work permits and residency easier for undocumented migrants, aiming to process around 300,000 applications each year for the coming 3 years. This move is part of the solution to address Spain’s aging population. Elsewhere, an NGO specialising in rescuing refugees in the Mediterranean has created a film ‘Like a Fish’, which highlights that ‘no child should have to swim for their life’, reminding the viewers that since 2018 1,500 children have drowned or gone missing attempting to cross the Mediterranean. (Sources: InfoMigrants, Little Black Book) 

UK borders and migration policy

Asylum accommodation continues to be a headline as the Home Office acknowledges an increase of hotel use following the election. Politicians in Peterborough, Coventry, Daventry and Altringham have all raised concerns about hotel use in their constituencies. (Sources: BBC) 

There has been a ‘concerning and substantial rise in violence and self-harm’ at Brook House immigration removal centre, according to the latest inspection report. A key concern was the prison-like feel of the establishment. The centre has a history of serious welfare issues, with staff abuse of detainees being exposed by an undercover investigation in 2017. Also on detention, the government has been urged not to spend money on reopening two disused immigration detention centres, as Whitehall’s spending watchdog warned that previous failed attempts to bring similar derelict buildings into use had ‘wasted’ £15m. (Sources: HM Inspectorate of Prisons, BBC, inews) 

Specific migrant groups

Identifying a link between the no recourse to public funds (NRPF) condition and poverty, a new report makes the case for reforms to protect those most vulnerable to destitution and to increase parity between British children of parents with NRPF, and their peers. The authors also argue that the policy fails in its aim to save money, as local authorities are obliged to meet the cost of supporting those affected. Elsewhere, the high court ruled that the delays in deciding change of condition applications allowing destitute migrants to access public funds had breached the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) due to failure to reduce the risk of inhuman and degrading treatment to a reasonable minimum. (Sources: Trust for London, Electronic Immigration Network) 

Following on the theme of destitution, the No Accommodation Network (NACCOM) has published a new report declaring a ‘refugee homeless emergency’. The report looks at how homelessness amongst refugees has doubled in the last year, and what changes might be needed in the system, both in regard to asylum decisions and affordable housing. (Source: NACCOM) 

On children and young people, the Department for Education (DfE) has released new statistics on children in care for year ending March 2024, showing that unaccompanied asylum seeking children now make up 9% of all children looked after in England, up from 6% in 2020. (Source: DfE) 

Following stories of EU nationals removed from the UK while waiting to hear about the outcome of their EU Settlement Scheme applications (EUSS), the Independent Monitoring Authority (IMA) has written to the Home Office to seek clarifications on the rights provided by the Certificate of Application (CoA), including where an administrative review is pending. (Source: IMA) 

Cohesion and integration

For International Men’s Day, Best for Britain has published a new article busting common myths around seeking asylum men . The article looks at why men make up higher proportions of refugees and those seeking asylum, how that influences discussions around migration, and how the system can be made more fit for purpose. (Source: Best for Britain) 

Almost a third of live births in England and Wales last year were to non-UK born mothers, most commonly from India and Pakistan. The proportion was lower in Yorkshire and Humber, with a quarter of births having been to non-UK born mothers. (Source: ONS)