Migration news roundup 18 July 2022

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

Stories that inspired us this week

Mears Foundation have partnered with local engineering firm AESSEAL in Rotherham to provide 800 mobile phones to people seeking asylum, to help them stay connected with families and services. (Source: Rotherham Advertiser)

An online watercolour exhibition of migrant workers on a UK strawberry farm by Sarah Hannis illustrates the tasks carried out by migrant workers during the summer. Sarah Hannis previously captured the experiences of migrant workers during the winter. (Source: MERL)

UK borders and migration policy

On the topic of relocating people seeking asylum to Rwanda, all the Conservative leadership candidates have stated they would retain the Rwanda policy. The court decision on the Rwanda scheme’s legality was due in July but will now take place in September. It is not clear whether the Home Office will attempt to press ahead with flights before then. Despite Home Office plans for people seeking asylum identified for removal to Rwanda to be electronically tagged, in most cases the devices have not been fitted following bail judge rulings. A new commentary which considers the Home Office Country Policy and Information Notes on Rwanda has been published, challenging the adequacy of the Rwandan asylum system. (Sources: inews, Sky News, Independent , Asylos, Home Office) 

The Royal Navy considers withdrawing from its role overseeing operations in the Channel, arguing that since they got involved they have not seen a decrease in numbers of small boats. (Source: the Guardian)  

The Home Office intends to end section 95 support for people seeking asylum who are declared inadmissible. Whilst they may be eligible for section 4 support, this raises destitution concerns. (Source: Home Office)

A British resident with indefinite leave to remain in the UK, who gave birth in Jamaica, is unable to return to the UK with her baby as the Home Office refused a visa for the child arguing that the baby has an ‘established life’ in Jamaica. (Source: Home Office)

Specific migrant groups

Sir Mo Farah has revealed in a documentary that he was trafficked to the UK as a child. The Home Office have stated they will not take action against Sir Mo, while police are investigating the couple accused of holding Sir Mo in domestic servitude. Under the new Nationality and Borders Act it will be harder for victims of trafficking to be recognised if there is a delay in coming forward. (Sources: BBC, the Guardian) 

On EU nationals, up to the end of June 2022, about 6.7 million applications have been submitted under the EUSS, including nearly 650,000 made after the initial deadline of June 2021. A survey by the Independent Monitoring Authority (IMA) has found 25% of applicants did not receive a Certificate of Application immediately after submitting their EUSS application. Home Office guidance now states comprehensive sickness insurance (CSI) is no longer required for naturalisation applications. (Sources: Home Office, IMA, Free Movement) 

On Children and Young People, the House of Lords passed Baroness Ludford’s Bill which will allow child refugees and parents to reunite in the UK. The Department for Education (DfE) published an update on school placements for children from Ukraine, Afghanistan and Hong Kong. The data reveals that for children from Hong Kong over 700 school applications have been submitted in the Yorkshire and Humber region, 7% of the national figure. Schools across York have welcomed at least 44 children from Ukraine, 8 from Afghanistan and 34 from Hong Kong. Highlighting the lifechanging difference fostering can bring, Freddie Flintoff’s new cricket series, ‘Field of Dreams’, features an unaccompanied young person who is seeking asylum and his foster carers. (Sources: Refugee Council, DfE, York Press, BBC iPlayer)

Cohesion and integration

Getty Images has launched a free online archive of Black History & Culture in the UK and the USA, to raise awareness of black history stories dating back to the 19th century. (Source: the Guardian) 

‘Dear Bradford’ is a 21-minute documentary featuring Farhaan and his relationship with his hometown, as a person of South Asian Muslim heritage. (Source: the Guardian) 

Musician Angela Moran spotlights stories of Irish migration to Birmingham from the 1950’s to the present day, including discrimination often experienced by earlier Irish generations, in this 1-hour documentary’. (Source: BBC iPlayer)

International news

Lebanon has decided to negotiate with Syria on ‘refugee repatriation’, claiming the war in Syria has ended and the country is now safe. (Source: Arab News)