MV Director quoted in article about voluntary returns
» Press MV Director quoted in article about voluntary returns
On Friday 6 December, Birmingham Live published an article about two Gurdwaras in the Midlands that have been offering advice to migrants on how to return home. They spoke to Nazek Ramadan, Director of Migrant Voice, who talked about the problems with "voluntary return" more broadly.
“We have always had concerns about the Home Office ‘voluntary returns’ service, as we know from people we work with that the decision to return is often not voluntary at all but made out of desperation, with people feeling bullied or forced into returning," she said.
“Years of a hostile environment and increasingly complex immigration regulations have left many migrants without status through no fault of their own and desperate enough that returning home seems like the only option.
“What these people need is free, trustworthy legal advice, the return of legal aid, a proper appeals process and a functioning Home Office that makes fair, transparent decisions about the lives of people in this country.”