Migration news roundup 5 August 2024
Content warning: this week's news roundup contains themes around suicide and death which some readers may find distressing.
- 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
In Paris, Sheffield-based boxer Cindy Ngamba has made history as the first athlete from the Refugee Olympic Team to win a medal. (Source: Olympics)
A recipe book produced with those in the asylum system is on display in Leeds in collaboration with Leeds Asylum Seekers Supporters Network (LASSN) and Leeds University Library Galleries. It’s part of a summer exhibition called ‘don’t play with your food’. (Source: Sunny Bank Mills)
Little Amal will be the guest of honour at this year’s Yorkshire Integration Festival, appearing at Halifax Piece Hall on Saturday 21 and Pearson Park, Hull on Sunday 22 September. (Source: Migration Yorkshire)
International news
People may be deported from Germany to Syria in the near future, after the German high court ruled that parts of Syria are no longer unsafe in the case of an individual offender. Meanwhile, Italy’s plan to open an asylum processing centre in Albania has been delayed by several weeks due to construction stoppages and hot weather. (Sources: DW, AP News)
Outside of Europe, this long-read essay tells the story of 10-year-old Lei Muhan and her parents’ journey from rural China to California. They are one of many families interviewed of the 55,000 Chinese nationals in the past eighteen months who’ve risked everything to enter the United States via Mexico. (Source: Washington Post)
UK borders and migration policy
Drowning is not now the only cause of death of people attempting to cross the Channel, as a Syrian woman suffocated on an overcrowded dinghy; the French maritime authority described the cause of her death as ‘a new phenomenon’. 23 people have died attempting to cross the Channel so far this year. (Sources: the Guardian, Independent)
A new policy briefing on homelessness among migrants calls for government to address the impact of no recourse to public funds (NRPF) restrictions and to take a cross departmental approach to homelessness, amongst various recommendations. (Source: Homeless Link)
This parliamentary briefing describes the scope of the immigration rules and how they can be changed, explaining that the Home Secretary can amend them with limited parliamentary scrutiny. (Source: House of Commons Library)
There has been a mass suicide attempt on Diego Garcia, part of a UK overseas territory where more than 60 Tamil people have been stranded for nearly three years, having fled Sri Lanka and rescued by the Royal Navy while trying to reach Canada. There are calls for the group to be brought to the UK, alongside an ongoing legal challenge relating to unlawful detention. (Source: the Guardian)
Specific migrant groups
The Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) Pathway 1 Stage 2 was launched, which provides a route for some families to be reunited in the UK who were separated during the evacuation of Kabul in August 2021. This is mainly for adults in the UK to reunite with spouses, partners and children (who were under 18 at the time of the evacuation), or for children in the UK to reunite with parents and siblings (under the age of 18). Referrals can be made only until 30 October 2024. The launch has been welcomed by refugee charities, with Afghan families resettled in Yorkshire featuring on national coverage around this launch. (Sources: Home Office, ITV)
This updated parliamentary briefing on asylum seekers’ right to work explains how permission to work can sometimes be granted, how policy has changed over time, the arguments for a more liberal policy, and practice in other countries. (Source: House of Commons Library)
Legal processes have revealed that for over a year until April 2024, there was a deliberate pause in consideration of claims for temporary leave submitted by asylum-seeking modern slavery victims, due to the possibility of removal to Rwanda. Those affected may seek compensation. (Source: Free Movement)
More on modern slavery, five men from Lithuania and Malaysia have been arrested in Oldham for working illegally, having been found working in a car scrapyard for £2.50 an hour and being accommodated in very poor conditions. They are expected to leave the UK voluntarily or be removed. (Source: BBC)
A new report on the integration of Hong Kongers in the UK found that unemployed individuals typically reported lower levels of integration across most indicators. (Source: Hongkongers in Britain)
According to a recent public opinion survey conducted in June, a majority of people support UK universities' efforts to attract highly qualified international students, even if doing so would result in an increase in immigration. (Source: Campaign for Science and Engineering).
Cohesion and integration
Planned violence by far-right groups spread across the country in the aftermath of the murder of three girls in Southport, after false information was circulated online about the identity of the alleged perpetrator. Legal proceedings to deal with offenders has begun in Yorkshire and Humber. (Source: Yorkshire Post)
The founder of the organisation Migrants at Work, which challenges employers who abuse migrant workers’ rights, has received death threats in a letter to his home address. The letter stated that he was causing ‘severe losses to our client’. (Source: the Guardian)
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