Migrant Action

Empowerment Advocacy Justice

Migrant Action’s response to ‘The New Plan for Immigration’

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On 23 rd  March 2021, the UK Government announced sweeping changes to how it will treat people seeking safety in the UK. These changes signal the Government’s firm resolve to pursue even more hostile and inhumane treatment for people forced to flee and seeking sanctuary in the UK.

The ‘New Plan for Immigration’ undermines the sanctity of life and disregards the compassionate treatment of asylum seekers, refugees, and migrants by humanitarian agencies and millions of ordinary people of goodwill.  Of grave concern, these changes legitimize state-sanctioned cruelty and signal a disturbing trajectory for the future of migrant rights and justice and the prospects of a fair, just, and harmonious society. The plan risks criminalizing people seeking sanctuary.

The timing and framing of the Government’s consultation on the ‘New Plan for Immigration’ expose the reluctance to genuinely listen and its resolve to pursue the policy- (for more details on the shortcomings of the consultation set out in a public statement by Refugee Action, click the link below).

Migrant Action stands in solidarity with the voices for compassion, equity of rights and justice, and for a fair, just, and humane immigration system. Through our collaborative work, we uphold and value the sanctity and dignity of human lives threatened increasingly by protracted conflicts and complex political emergencies as well, structural violence exemplified in part, by the Government’s ‘new plan for immigration. 
 
For more responses to the ‘New Plan for Immigration’, see links below

How Quakers can respond to the Government’s New Plan for Immigration ‘consultation’ *** ends 6 May 2021
https://docs.google.com/document/d/10MKdFDt1IHFYNDI5Poge0BUIIrLKpeqLmQCMogS75lE/edit
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdrpXrE5JrHwAuKfiIt_y5NTYrLTAPZobhDriI87PMoevK6DQ/viewform?gxids=7628
Opposing this government’s new plan for immigration
Over 70 leaders working with refugee women come together to highlight to the Home Secretary that her new plan for immigration will harm women
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/priti-patel-immigration-plans-women-refugees-b1840281.html

How to Lead, Manage and Support Others

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A development programme for community leaders and emerging managers.

To develop leadership capacity, value lived experience and influence system change – Migrant Action & Nicola Parker Coaching Consultancy will co-deliver a leadership development program for 10 emerging leaders and managers from migrant-focused & migrant-led organisations. The program offers a valuable opportunity to enhance knowledge, develop leadership skills and network.

Through this programme you will…

– Understand key skills to support, manage & lead people effectively

– Explore what leadership & management means

– Build relationships with other leaders & emerging managers in migrant organisations

– Develop coaching skills useful for life in and around work

– Reflect on how you will lead or manage in uncertain time.

Dates: Delivered via 3 X 2 hour sessions on zoom on 29 April, 27 May & 24 June (10am-12pm). Ongoing group support will be delivered by Migrant Action after the programmes to ensure the group continues to connect, support and learn from one another. For more information please contact Fidelis Chebe at info@migrantaction.org.uk

MIGRANT ACTION: COVID19 Vaccine Hesitancy and Health Justice online workshop

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We are delighted to announce that Migrant Action will be running an online workshop on 14th April 2021 at 10 am that focuses on migrant and BME communities and the difficulty they face in regards to the COVID19 vaccine

BME communities continue to be overrepresented in Covid-19 related hospitalisations and deaths. The crushing economic impact of Covid-19 is most visible amongst these communities who are overrepresented at the ‘frontline’ and in the most precarious, disposable, insecure and low paid jobs. Migrants, who have no recourse to public funds, don’t have a ‘safety-net’ to fall back whilst those with insecure or irregular immigration status, are wary about participating in Covid-19 responses including the vaccine.

Whilst vaccine ‘hesitancy’ is complex, covid-19 outcomes for BME and migrant communities are precariously obvious.

Migrant Action is organising a collaborative workshop to:

– Enhance constructive discourse about covid-19/vaccine

– Ensure equity of access to the vaccine

– Challenge conspiracies and transform vaccine hesitancy

This workshop features special guest keynote speakers:

– Anna Miller and Matteo Besana (Doctors of the World)

– Aliya Yule (Migrants Organise)

– Tesfalem Yemane (RETAS)

To purchase tickets for the online workshop:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/migrant-action-covid19-vaccine-hesitancy-and-health-justice-workshop-tickets-147436359119?keep_tld=1

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Enhancing Migrant advocacy and support

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Migrant Action, ELSH and CRT have established a new collaborative framework. The framework is a strategic response to the limited support provision for migrants in Barnsley, Doncaster and Rotherham. Our organisations recognise the importance of a more joined- up approach in order to enhance service offer and effective strategic advocacy for migrants. Covid-19, and Brexit and the relentless hostile environment policies together constitute a very challenging landscape for migrants to navigate. This challenging landscape would encompass but not limited to; insecure immigration, destitution, discrimination, labour exploitation, homelessness, limited access welfare, legal justice, healthcare, housing, education and other wider opportunities for social integration.

Through this new integrated partnership; Migrant Action, ELSH and CRT will seek to:
 Enhance service provision for migrants in Barnsley
 Increase positive pathways for integration
 Challenge structural injustice and increase strategic advocacy for migrants

Following this new partnership, Migrant Action working in collaboration with ELSH, are delivering ESOL and functional skills to new arrivals and long term migrants in Barnsley as part of their integration support. Migrant Action have also recruited an advocacy & Integration adviser to provide advocacy and integration support for migrants in Barnsley.


Collaborating with CRT, ELSH and other local agencies, Migrant Action will facilitate access to mainstream support for migrants thereby ensuring effective integration and migrant justice

Babita – Advocacy & Integration Worker
Julie – ESOL Tutor

‘Welcome to England’: English Language and integration support for migrants

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As the UK continues to navigate through Brexit and Covid-19 pandemic, studies and analyses of these complex processes highlight the importance of addressing the root causes of pre-existing problems of poverty, inequality, social injustice, structural racism and more..

For migrants, they face an additional challenge in the form of policies designed to create a ‘hostile environment’ for immigrants in a general sense. These policies largely limit access to healthcare, welfare, employment, housing and other forms of mainstream provision.

During lockdown, the ‘hostile environment’ has even graver consequences as charities and organizations supporting migrants have had to close their in-person services or reduce service provision. These services do more than just advocacy or legal signposting, but also greatly facilitated migrants’ integration into UK society, by connecting them to local communities and offering pathways to improve functional English language skills. For many migrants, these services and pathways are a ‘life-line’ and without their support, migrants risk becoming socially excluded.

Our Response

In response to this challenging context, Migrant Action has launched its new volunteer-led project, ‘Welcome to England’. The new project builds on the success of the ‘No Child Left Behind’ project last summer, whereby migrants and their families received a packages of support including online tutoring and befriending support. Our new project also involves the provision of online ESOL and functional skills to newly arrived migrants in Barnsley in partnership with Migrant Action’s partner- ELSH.

Families new to the community throughout Leeds and West Yorkshire have been paired with volunteer tutors. Volunteers and migrants are matched based on common language skills. It is hoped that this will facilitate shared understandings of migration.

The aim of the project is to enable migrants feel welcome and empowered as they embark on their integration journey, developing functional English language skills. Our volunteer tutoring and befriending model offers a friendly approach to integration by forging positive relationships. This is vital particularly at a time when most people especially newly arrived migrants are likely to feel most isolated, excluded and shy of belonging to their new society.

Below are the profiles of some volunteers who are already involved in the project- however, we are always looking for more! If interested in taking part, please feel free to contact us at info@migrantaction.org.uk or call 01138330991.

Judy is a retired Maths teacher who taught for three years in International schools in northern Italy. This has given her some appreciation of the difficulties people face learning the English language. She now spends her time, when she is not travelling, enjoying her two grandsons and knitting. She also enjoys reading and wishes she had the patience to read Italian novels to improve her language skills.
My name is Emily and I have recently completed my TESOL qualification. I am involved in this project as I believe the ability to communicate with your community is so important for your own confidence, growth and wellbeing. I want to be a helpful and friendly part of that journey!
Abi has been volunteering for Migrant Action in various capacities for 16 months now. Through living in Barcelona whilst growing up, she has an appreciation for the challenges that migrants are faced with when moving to a new country, including the social isolation that a lack of language skills can bring in the first few months. Since then, she has gained proficiency with the Spanish language and looks forward to utilising her skills when interacting with her mentees in the project.

Extortionate immigration Fees for migrants: Unfair & Inhumane

Extortionate immigration Fees for migrants: Unfair & Inhumane

In the last decade, we have witnessed the exponential rise in the fees and charges attached to immigration applications for visas (permission to come or remain in the UK) made by migrants to the Home Office. Migrants and their families are crumbling under the burden of these fees & charges as some are forced into making precarious choices in order to afford the fees/charges.  In February 2021, the court of appeal ruled that the immigration fees for child citizenship applications were ‘illegal’. £1,000 fees for child citizenship are illegal, appeals court rules | The Independent

At Migrant Action, we are seeing increasing levels of hardship and precarious living amongst migrants. Often, they have no recourse to public funds and in low wage jobs hence struggle to afford not just the legal fees but worse still, the extortionate immigration fees & NHS surcharges.  One mother stated ‘we had to make a choice between heating and saving up for our application’.  During the Covid-19 pandemic, our ‘Access to Justice’ scheme funded by the Barrow Cadbury Trust, enabled us to support vulnerable migrants/ families impacted by Covid-19 to secure legal advice and assistance with immigration applications which involved fee waiver applications.

While our ‘Access to Justice’ offers a short term solution and makes a big difference to the lives of a few migrants, the charging of extortionate visa fees, NHS surcharges and other immigration related fees are widely viewed as punitive, unfair and represents an injustice in the immigration system.  A change in the immigration fee charging system is necessary and would offer fairness and equity allowing most migrants avert the throes of poverty, destitution and precarious living. 

Migrant Voice has been working with numerous organisations across the migration sector as well as organisations outside of the sector such as trade unions to ensure that we have a full understanding of the impact of extortionate Visa Fees on Migrants across the UK – this Includes Migrant Action. Migrant Action is delighted to be involved in this campaign against extortionate visa fees seeking system change.

See more below about the campaign.

Join the campaign against extortionate visa fees

Migrant Voice is leading a campaign against extortionate immigration fees, which are having a devastating impact on many of our migrant members and their families.

Most visa fees have risen exponentially in the last decade, while the NHS surcharge and the extortionate cost of appointments and other associated costs add hundreds of pounds to each application. For example a family of four on the 10 year route to settlement can expect to pay in excess of £40,000.  Our campaign wants to change this. We want to see all fees reduced to admin costs for adults, free for children.

Over the last months we have been listening to affected migrants and their families and gathering information from other organisations working on related issues to help shape our campaign. Through focus groups, a survey, and ongoing meetings we are developing the campaign’s strategy and plan, its priority areas, activities and recommendations. We continue to gather evidence of the impact extortionate visa fees is having and how this has been exacerbated due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Stephanie, 48, from Nigeria is one of those who wants the campaign to succeed. She is working as a healthcare assistant and has two children. She estimates she has spent close to £15,000 in visa fees to date. Her visa must be renewed every 2.5 years and at each visa renewal she must pay around £2,500 in fees, plus the £1,560 NHS surcharge.

It doesn’t have to be this way. A decade ago, fees in this country were more affordable. We believe it’s wrong for the government to continue to make a profit from migrants paying to stay in the UK,with some fees charged up to ten times the actual cost.

The costs are so high that they have a direct impact on Stephanie’s family finances: she says, “When it is time for you to renew you are looking everywhere for money. You have no money to save, for school, rent, car insurance. My son is finishing college and I want him to go into further education but that is hard, financially.” Because her visa is still temporary, she has No Recourse to Public Funds.

The costs to migrants aren’t just financial – many families suffer mental and physical health problems, with some families sacrificing food, heating and electricity to make sure they can make their payments to the Home Office when the time comes.

Stephanie works as much as she can to make ends meet, often giving up family time or sick leave. Still, she sometimes must borrow money from other people. “I work six days a week in order for me to pay for everything and it’s still not enough, I still have debt … I don’t have time with my kids because I have to work so much. There is no time to sit down with family or take them out.”

She says that her life is reduced to working in order to pay for her visa. “I don’t feel heard by the government; they don’t know what I am going through. We are human too. I want to be heard.”

Migrant Voice are currently running a survey online to collect information and experiences from people like Stephanie on their interaction with the UK Visas and immigration system and the impact it has had on them and their families. We would be grateful for anyone affected who could complete this survey, it should only take 15 minutes. Please also share it amongst your own networks to make sure we hear from those affected:

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/MV_Visa_Fees_Survey.

Migrant Voice are also conducting interviews with migrants and their families who have been affected by the extortionate cost of Visas in the UK. If anyone would like to participate in these interviews, or would like to know more about the campaign please contact our Campaigns Organiser Cameron Ball: campaigns@migrantvoice.org

Please join us in raising awareness of these issues. You can get involved in several ways by sharing your experiences, taking part in shaping the campaign, take part in our network meetings, training, and lobby activities, share the link to our survey and spread awareness of our campaign with people who are affected, collaborate with us on this and inter-related issues.

Migrant Voice is a migrant-led organisation working with migrants from all around the world with all kinds of status. We develop the media skills and confidence of migrants with the aim of strengthening their voices in the media and civil society in order to counter xenophobia and build support for our rights. We have offices and networks in London, the West Midlands and Glasgow.