Migration news roundup 17 July 2023

• 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

The Ukrainian Centre in Doncaster had its kitchen refurbished which means it can be used to provide meals for guests and will be used to raise further funds to support people from Ukraine. (Source: Doncaster Free Press)

Two Yorkshire colleges gave annual awards to students from refugee backgrounds. The College of Sanctuary award at Bradford College went to Cynthia Utlwang from Botswana who completed an ESOL Level 1 qualification, Maths GCSE, and an introductory Nail Technician course. While York College’s REACH award was given to Dana Lisova from Ukraine for her determination and strength of character while she studies four AS levels in her second language as well as acting as a translator for fellow students from Ukraine. (Sources: Telegraph & Argus, York Press)

International news

Here’s a photographic art project documenting the life and experiences of young people seeking asylum in Spain, as they wait for their claims to be processed. (Source: Info Migrants)

This article highlights the tensions between local residents and migrants in Tunisia. Following a series of attacks on migrants living in the city of Sfax on 4th July, many migrants, some of which were documented, are reportedly being removed to Libyan and Algerian borders by officials. (Source: BBC)

UK borders and migration policy

The Illegal Migration Bill is now in the parliamentary stage known as ‘ping pong’, when it passes between the two houses with each responding to the other’s amendments until agreement is reached. This week, the House of Commons rejected all the amendments proposed by the House of Lords, but the government suffered defeats when the Bill returned to the Lords. To increase the likelihood of success, the government had made some amendments of its own ahead of the Commons vote, such as keeping time limits on the detention of pregnant women and unaccompanied children, and no longer backdating to March the implementation of the duty to remove. . However, further government concessions appear to have been ruled out. (Sources: Sky News, BBC, the Guardian)

Here's a useful overview of the safe and legal routes that some people seeking sanctuary can use to come to the UK. (Source: Free Movement)

A Court of Appeal ruling has upheld the principle that detainees do not have the right to access legal advice in person. (Source: Free Movement)

Former Conservative minister and Brexit supporter George Eustice has suggested the UK should negotiate bi-lateral agreements to enable under-35s from EU countries to work in the UK for up to two years, and young people from the UK to work in Europe. (Source: the Guardian)

Specific migrant groups

The first large-scale asylum accommodation site has started moving in residents (you can see the pictures here). The former RAF site in Essex is envisaged to accommodate up to 1,700 people, though the site looks set to be subject to further legal challenges. There’s also a new parliamentary briefing on asylum accommodation sites. While, a new report claims that the costs of using the Bibby Stockholm barge as asylum accommodation would  lead to savings of less than £10 per day per asylum seeker. (Sources: Home Office, ITV, Independent, UK Parliament, the Guardian)

Government ministers have reportedly met to discuss introducing a Homes for Ukraine-style hosting scheme to support with the move of resettled Afghans out of Bridging hotels. (Sources: the Guardian)

On children and young people:

• Former refugee and founder of the Babylon Project has pleaded with MPs to not punish children for seeking safety and warned of the “psychological toll” detention will have on them. (Source: Mirror)
• Leading medical bodies have warned that the Illegal Migration Bill could result in serious harm to children’s health and have called for an emergency meeting with Home Secretary and Health Secretary. (Source: The BMJ)
• The British Association of Social Workers have opposed the use of scientific methods to conduct age assessments, arguing that it violates rights in relation to informed medical consent. (Source: BASW)
• This article explains the disruption to schools and to children’s education  caused by refugee and asylum-seeking families being moved by the Home Office at short notice. (Source: Schools Week)

International undergraduate students’ admission to UK most selective Universities is likely to rise by 30% this autumn as foreign students are perceived as means to sustainable funding, leaving fewer places for home students. This is evidenced in the recent statistics released by UCAS. (Sources: Mail Online, The Pie News)

There are a few items on Modern slavery:

• Following a recent court decision, updated guidance has been issued on modern slavery cases outlining that decision makers can ‘consider all forms of evidence … not restricted to objective evidence’ and that the victim’s account may be sufficient basis for a positive decision. (Source: Home Office)
• Trafficked children and young people going through the asylum system experience ‘system-trauma’, according to a new report. (Source: Modern Slavery Policy and Evidence Centre)
• This article written by a sex trafficking survivor explains some of the implications of the Illegal Migration Bill, arguing that if it had applied in her case, she would not have been in a position to testify against her trafficker, who has now been jailed. (Source: the Guardian)

The latest Housing Rights Newsletter from the Chartered Institute of Housing has been published, with a number of relevant articles on topics including net migration, the asylum system, refugees from Afghanistan, Ukraine and Sudan, and Windrush. (Source: CIH)

Cohesion and integration

Mark Davies from the Refugee Council encourages those supportive of refugees to get talking to those less welcoming . Only that way, he suggests, a change for those in need of help can be achieved. (Source: Refugee Council)

This podcast explores how the way foods are perceived is often closely linked to how migrant communities themselves are perceived, and changes over time. (Source: The Conversation)