While Parliament is in recess, we need to see talk of Home Office reform being turned into action – and action that goes far beyond the specific scandals of Windrush. Currently, the prospect of such action being taken is a distant one. In response to the Wendy Williams review into Windrush and broader Home Office…
The details of the UK’s Points-Based System, published by the Government today, make for dismal reading. This is the system we feared all along – one that would see our communities become financially, socially and culturally poorer, and many of those eager to come and work in the UK and contribute to our society barred. Since…
The recent announcement that the government will accept all 30 of the recommendations from the Windrush Lessons Learned Review was a refreshing sign of a willingness to listen at the top. Never before has the Home Office committed to embark on a cultural reform programme of this scope on migration and race. This has the potential to be a…
The hostile environment is not working – for anyone. A new report by the National Audit Office criticises the Home Office on two counts – not knowing if its hostile policies are having the desired effect, and not knowing how many undocumented migrants are in the UK. If only the Home Office had asked us, we could…
The arrival of June marks Pride month. Ever since the Stonewall uprisings of June 1969, this has been a chance for LGBTQ+ communities around the world to celebrate. Although many of these celebrations are virtual this year, their message of diversity, equality and freedom of expression is no less vital. LGBTQ+ rights are human rights. Migrant…
Migrant NHS workers will no longer have to pay an extortionate surcharge to use the healthcare system that they help to sustain. Last week's U-turn by the government on this was both welcome and unexpected. But it doesn't go far enough. Just like Brits, migrants contribute to the NHS through taxes. Demanding £400 extra per…
Shantel works in a care home in Birmingham. On top of the unimaginable stress of the last few weeks, she has had to apply to renew her visa, which, at the time of writing, expires in two days. She can’t afford the extortionate fee, so she applied for a fee waiver more than a month…
Six weeks ago, we called on the Government to make eight simple changes that would make it possible for all migrants to keep themselves and others safe from Covid-19. Only one has been made (ending in-person tribunal hearings), with tinkering around the edges on some others. This lack of decisive action has left unknown numbers of migrants…
It’s been refreshing to hear so much praise for some groups of migrant workers during these first weeks of the Covid-19 lockdown. But amongst the platitudes, the Government has wasted no time in pushing ahead with its plan for a crude and discriminatory points-based immigration system that, if already in force, would have prevented many…
With Covid-19, the threat to the rights of migrants and refugees around the world is growing. Conflict and persecution do not stop during a pandemic and people still need to flee their homes to find safety. But travelling is even more difficult and dangerous than usual, and the path to refuge criss-crossed with shuttered borders.…
