‘I don’t feel human…’

The Children’s Society recently published I don’t feel human Experiences of destitution amongst young refugees and migrants. The report looks at the ongoing effects of the policy of enforced destitution originally introduced under the Labour Government. Enforced destitution refers to the withholding/limiting of welfare support  in order to expedite the return of refused asylum seekers to their country of origin which has in turn left thousands of people including children without basic support for indefinite periods of time.

Settlement changes

The Home Office has today published their proposals for reform the scheme for settlement (along with some other changes to the Immigration Rules).

UKBA Rumpus

Post written by Josh Reid, JCWI Communications Dept.

This week the UK Border Agency has come back under fresh scrutiny, after an official inquiry report condemned the border force for “poor communication, poor managerial hindsight and a lack of clarity about roles and responsibilities”.

Home Secretary Theresa May resorted to the dramatic response by announcing plans to split UKBA into two,

Hirsi Jamaa and Others v Italy – push back policy

Hirsi Jamaa and Others v Italy  application no. 27765/09

The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights has today issued judgment in relation to Italy’s push back policy in which vessels  carrying Somali and Eritrean nationals from Libya and heading to Italy  were intercepted on the high seas 35 miles south of Lampedusa.

The Grand Chamber held:

1.The applicants fell within the jursidiction of Italy for the purposes of Article 1 ECHR

2. There had been two violations of Article 3 ECHR because the applicants had been exposed to the risk of ill-treatment in Libya and of repatriation to Somalia or Eritrea;

3. There had been a violation of Article 4 of Protocol No. 4 (prohibition of collective expulsions)

4. There had been a violation of Article 13 ECHR (right to effective remedy) taken in conjunction with Article 3 ECHR.

You can read the Court’s press release for a summary of the case and its facts and you can read the full judgment here.

Not So Fast Track

The UKBA’s Chief Inspector has issued his latest report Asylum: a thematic inspection of the Detained Fast Track. The report looks at the operation of the Detained Fast track Scheme (DFT).

Integration – it’s down to the individual

This is Pickles, right?

The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) yesterday published Creating the conditions for integration.

The document sets out the DCLG’s strategy for fostering integration in the UK. There aren’t any huge shifts or surprises or changes in direction here, though there is a continuing, and a more rapid move towards shifting the responsibility for integration away from the state, on to individuals themselves.

“Foreign Babies” alert courtesy of Tory MP.

Migration Watch and The Daily Express are delighting in the latest figures served up by the Office for  National Statistics in response to a twisted question by a Tory backbencher.

Nicholas Soames asked one of those smarmy questions which the Coalition government is delighted to field and answer in as much detail as possible. In full, he asked (according to Hansard):

“To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the (a) number and (b) proportion of births was where one or both parents were foreign-born in (i) London and (ii) each London borough within Greater London in the most recent year for which figures are available.”

Legal Aid Bill – final stages

Yesterday was the last day in Committee (House of Lords) for the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill.

The Bill will now progress to Report stage (House of Lords) which is  scheduled to start on 5 March 2012.

Helpline for Irregular Migrants launching this month

JCWI is delighted to announce the opening of a new advice line – for undocumented migrants in London.

Undocumented migrants do not fall into any of the UK’s legal immigration categories. This includes migrants who entered the country through an irregular channel or do not possess valid documents, migrants who have overstayed their visas, migrants with rejected asylum applications or cases where refugee status was revoked.

Ann Dummett – Obituary

Guest contribution by Sue Shutter (Executive Committee ILPA) 

Ann Dummett, a founder of JCWI and a staff member from January 1978 to November 1984, died on 7 February 2012, at the age of 81. Her death is a huge loss to all who work for race equality and justice, areas where she has done so much for the past 50 years.