Editorial: A time to be…

Editorials

Editorial: A time to be bold

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. We’ve also seen some countries such as Lebanon use the pandemic as an excuse to crack down on refugees in their countries. Meanwhile, migrants around the world are finding themselves trapped in their new home with visas expiring,…

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…

Editorial: Help migrants protect themselves

As Covid-19 continues to spread, urgent policy changes are required to make sure that everyone in the UK – including every migrant – is able to protect themselves and others. The Home Office is already making changes – suspending face-to-face asylum interviews and reporting requirements, and making treatment for Covid-19 non-chargeable, for example – but these must go much further and much faster. The Emergency Powers Bill currently going through Parliament will give the Government significant new powers in light of the pandemic, including allowing for police and immigration officers…

As Covid-19 continues to spread, urgent policy changes are required to make sure that everyone in the UK – including every migrant – is able to protect themselves and others.…

Editorial: Migrants are humans too

The situation at the Greece-Turkey border is the result of a shameful unwillingness to see migrants as human beings, to acknowledge their right to agency over their own lives, and to contemplate anything beyond short-term, sticking plaster approaches to the movement of human beings. Many of the migrants gathered at the border have been used as pawns in a geopolitical game for years and are now once again being manipulated for political gains. While several EU countries have done good work resettling refugees in the last few years, we have…

The situation at the Greece-Turkey border is the result of a shameful unwillingness to see migrants as human beings, to acknowledge their right to agency over their own lives, and…

Editorial: Stop scapegoating migrants

This Government continues to treat migrants as a problem and panders to the unfounded fears of a minority of the British public, fears created and stoked by successive governments in a bid to win votes. This was made clear in the policy statement on the UK's future points-based immigration system, published on 19 February 2020. The Government must stop presenting certain groups of migrants as problems that need to be solved and instead openly acknowledge the value – economic, social and cultural – that migrants bring to the UK. They…

This Government continues to treat migrants as a problem and panders to the unfounded fears of a minority of the British public, fears created and stoked by successive governments in…

Ten years of Migrant Voice

This week marks ten years of the journey of Migrant Voice from an idea to a well-recognised UK charity. The idea was borne out of the anger, frustration and feelings of helplessness in the face of increasingly negative perceptions and behaviour towards migrants, and the decision to turn them into positive energy and a plan of action. The lead up to the 2010 general election was a time and a space from which we were absent. A huge debate was taking place about migration, and everyone was talking about migrants…

This week marks ten years of the journey of Migrant Voice from an idea to a well-recognised UK charity. The idea was borne out of the anger, frustration and feelings…

Editorial: Put people before numbers

A work-based immigration system matching the vision laid out in the recently published Migration Advisory Committee report would be a dismal one – and we call on the Government to reject these recommendations and design a system that truly works for all. The report – the result of studies commissioned by the Home Office into the salary threshold and a possible future points-based system – recommends a post-Brexit system that combines these two approaches. While we do welcome some of the MAC’s recommendations – such as lowering the general salary…

A work-based immigration system matching the vision laid out in the recently published Migration Advisory Committee report would be a dismal one – and we call on the Government to…

Editorial: Make 2020 a year of reform

“I keep asking myself, how long am I going to live like this?” These are the words of Espoir, one of our members in Birmingham, who is originally from Cameroon and is claiming asylum here. Like many migrants and asylum seekers in the UK waiting for an immigration or asylum decision, Espoir is subjected to long delays and an attitude of suspicion, and she’s forced to live an undignified life while she waits. These issues epitomise the chronic problems with the current Home Office and immigration system – problems of…

“I keep asking myself, how long am I going to live like this?” These are the words of Espoir, one of our members in Birmingham, who is originally from Cameroon…

Editorial: Post-election, we continue the fight

After this general election we stand in solidarity with our members and with all migrants in the UK, many of whom are already suffering the daily dehumanising consequences of current policies and may be fearing what lies ahead. But we who believe in a fairer society, one where migrants and refugees are embraced as equal members of the community, where rhetoric on immigration is characterised by humanity and backed up with policies to match, and where opportunity and rights are not determined by skin colour or income level – we…

After this general election we stand in solidarity with our members and with all migrants in the UK, many of whom are already suffering the daily dehumanising consequences of current…

Editorial: Dear candidate...

The UK will soon have a new government. We want to see one that shares our vision of a society where migrants and refugees have full equality – where they are heard, respected, have rights, and are embraced as equal members of our community – and we need your help on this. We have three specific asks at this election, and we’re writing to prospective parliamentary candidates across the country urging them to support those asks if they are elected: 1. End the injustice faced by thousands of international students…

The UK will soon have a new government. We want to see one that shares our vision of a society where migrants and refugees have full equality – where they…

Editorial: Unsettling

“I know I should apply but can’t bring myself to do it. I’m furious, I have been here for 24 years, have paid my taxes for all those years, have three children who were all born here. This is my home! Why do I need to apply to stay in my own home? I still have hope it might all not go ahead, I guess that’s partly why I’m waiting […] The whole thing makes my blood boil.” These are the words of one person who completed our recent…

Editorial: A time to be bold

Editorials