A penalty tax on migrants…

Editorials

A penalty tax on migrants is no solution to public pay

Increasing visa fees and the National Health Service surcharge to pay towards a public pay increase is a penalty tax on migrants. The public sector needs a pay rise, but to do so at the expense of migrants is exploitation at a state level. When the Prime Minister said that he didn’t want “taxpayers” to foot the bill for the pay rises he ignored that migrants pay taxes. The government’s plans to raise visa fees and the surcharge are a “penalty tax” for being born elsewhere. What this government is…

Increasing visa fees and the National Health Service surcharge to pay towards a public pay increase is a penalty tax on migrants. The public sector needs a pay rise, but…

The UK must not abdicate from its responsibilities to refugees

FRIDAY, 7 JULY As the Anti-Refugee Bill returns to the House of Commons, Members of Parliament have the opportunity to end this inhumane and immoral proposal once and for all. The bill faced significant opposition in the House of Lords, with 20 amendments being sent back to Parliament, believed to be a record for any piece of legislation. The reality, however, is that no amount of tweaks of changes can make this bill any better. At its core, its very purpose, it is performative cruelty. What this government is…

FRIDAY, 7 JULY As the Anti-Refugee Bill returns to the House of Commons, Members of Parliament have the opportunity to end this inhumane and immoral proposal once and for…

Rwanda verdict: One step closer to restoring humanity

THURSDAY, 29 JUNE 2023 The Court of Appeals ruling is a welcome win against this government’s inhumane and abhorrent plan to forcibly remove asylum seekers to Rwanda. We must remain vigilant, however, against this government’s attempts to continue to push it through. For now though, this will come as a relief to so many people who have been left in limbo, and facing even more trauma, on top of that which they have already gone through, while waiting to find out what might happen to them. From the outset the…

THURSDAY, 29 JUNE 2023 The Court of Appeals ruling is a welcome win against this government’s inhumane and abhorrent plan to forcibly remove asylum seekers to Rwanda. We must remain…

Beyond Counting: how migrants make Britain better

THURSDAY 25 MAY 2023 With the release of today’s immigration statistics the way in which migrants are talked about in the UK are once more put at the forefront of the debate, a debate which routinely ignores the voices of those most affected by it. It is deplorable to see such a toxic narrative on migration in which so few media outlets or politicians challenge or even question the assumption that migration is bad for Britain, despite all the evidence to the contrary. Migrants aren't statistics, they aren't numbers on…

THURSDAY 25 MAY 2023 With the release of today’s immigration statistics the way in which migrants are talked about in the UK are once more put at the forefront of…

NO SECURITY. NO REST. NO SOLUTION. What the hotel scandal tells us about the asylum system

Our latest report on the experiences of asylum seekers in hotel accommodation exposed systematic neglect and human rights violations. Reporting on our findings, the Observer describes how people fleeing persecution, oppression and armed conflict are forced to live on “rancid food… in windowless rooms smaller than prison cells.” But this is just one aspect of a whole system set up to fail by a government that subordinates both refugee rights and the public interest for its own political gain. We produced this report in response to toxic media myths about…

Our latest report on the experiences of asylum seekers in hotel accommodation exposed systematic neglect and human rights violations. Reporting on our findings, the Observer describes how people fleeing persecution,…

The name that says it all: the illegal immigration bill

So it’s come to this: the illegal immigration bill - a name with a double meaning that itself encapsulates the mess we are in. Extraordinarily, the Government is proposing legislation that carries an admission that it might be against the law. The UK has arrived at this remarkable juncture after years of deliberate cultivation of a hostile environment, disregard of evidence, use of obfuscatory and inflammatory language, and political grandstanding. In 2002 there were more than 103,000 claims for asylum. Last year the number was less than 75,000. So there…

So it’s come to this: the illegal immigration bill - a name with a double meaning that itself encapsulates the mess we are in. Extraordinarily, the Government is proposing legislation…

Our complicated visa system is highly exploitative

You want to settle in the UK? The government website, Check if you can get indefinite leave to remain, makes the process look clear and straightforward. But anyone having tried to navigate the visa application and settlement process can tell you otherwise. They know that you risk drowning in a maze-like, expensive, time-consuming bureaucracy. It is such an unreasonable, malignant, costly procedure that at a recent Migrant Voice conference, ‘A better deal for migrants’, a senior union official, Wilf Sullivan, the Race Equality Officer at the Trades Union Congress, called for “a…

You want to settle in the UK? The government website, Check if you can get indefinite leave to remain, makes the process look clear and straightforward. But anyone having tried to…

Looking ahead: Our plans for the new year

Last year ended on a distressing note, with the grotesque plan to despatch several hundred people seeking asylum in Britain to a small, poor country in Central Africa still to be decided by the courts (though the High Court ruled that the Government’s selection of the first consignment of people to be airfreighted out of UK had been conducted improperly). Looking ahead, even darker clouds are gathering as political upheavals around the world - not least in Ukraine – lead to further large-scale movements of people fleeing conflict and persecution. Beyond…

Last year ended on a distressing note, with the grotesque plan to despatch several hundred people seeking asylum in Britain to a small, poor country in Central Africa still to…

Stop blaming, start building: a new migrant labour policy

The government needs to clarify its position on the use of migrant workers, which is a mess. Two aspects of policy need change, quickly: overall attitude and everyday practices. Overall, immigration policy must explicitly recognise the individual and equal humanity of individuals who come to these shores. Migrants must not be labelled and treated as aliens. Migrants are human beings with lives, feelings, and families, and their presence benefits society as a whole. Secondly, policy should be based on principles and need, not numbers. Setting a target number plucked out…

The government needs to clarify its position on the use of migrant workers, which is a mess. Two aspects of policy need change, quickly: overall attitude and everyday practices. Overall,…

Time to change the story

As the merry-go-round of government continues, with prime ministers and home secretaries dropping in and out of office every few weeks, the migrants who are helping keep the country running continue to face steepling problems. The main newspaper and broadcasting headlines are about those at the helm, while those in the engine room get less attention. For example, here is a random selection of stories affecting asylum-seekers, refugees and migrants, who arrive here in search of safety, work, education or a different way of life. Asylum seekers: Home Office accused…

As the merry-go-round of government continues, with prime ministers and home secretaries dropping in and out of office every few weeks, the migrants who are helping keep the country running…

A penalty tax on migrants is no solution to public pay

Editorials