Member speaks to the Independent about the impact of the restart of immigration reporting
» Press Member speaks to the Independent about the impact of the restart of immigration reporting
On 23 September, the Independent published an article about the Home Office decision to restart in-person immigration reporting, which had been suspended at the start of the Covid-19 lockdown.
The journalist spoke to a number of people for this story, including Migrant Voice member Farhad Rony, who has reported twice since the restart and is concerned about the risk he faces when doing this. He said: “They stopped it for a couple of months and made phone calls to me instead. I haven’t gone anywhere because of that. I don’t understand why it is necessary to start again. Everybody says if you don’t have to go out, you shouldn’t go out, but it’s a different situation for us."
Migrant Voice Director Nazek Ramadan also commented on this development, saying, "The last few months have given people a welcome respite from the terror of being detained and deported – and that the Home Office are now restarting this, despite rising Covid infections, suggests that looking tough on immigration is more important to them than keeping people safe.”