Migrant Action

Empowerment Advocacy Justice

Home Office has “utterly failed” on immigration detention, says report.

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The Home Office Select Committee’s staggering characterisation of the UK detention estate comes as little surprise to campaigners and organisations. The report; https://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/home-affairs-committee/news-parliament-2017/immigration-detention-report-published-17-19/exposes a ‘shockingly cavalier’ culture within the estate and concludes that the immigration detention system has ‘utterly failed’ its responsibility.

These failings are multi-faceted and multilayered. The Select Committee’s report at the very least, reinforce the concerns and conclusions by numerous organisations and campaigners who have equally x-rayed these disturbing behaviours has become normalised culture that is inherent and routinely expressed with impunity within the detention estate. 

A snapshot of the failings of immigration detention highlight; the flagrant exploitation of detainees used as cheap captive labour who are paid £1 per hour.  The Shadow Home Office minister Lord Richard Rosser stated ‘The government is certainly redefining what ‘low paid work’ really means’ ( Morning Star, March 19 2019). Failings also find expression in forms of social control of detainees whose rights and freedoms are inextricably linked to compliance with detention regimes to the extent that people have to earn the right to be exploited or risk their ‘privileges’.  https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/f/working-clampdownhow-detained-migrants-are-coerced-cut-price-labour

Furthermore, failings also manifest in limited/denial of access to legal advice, poor medical assistance, poor advocacy support, indefinite detention and other forms of injustices. See https://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/joint-select/human-rights-committee/news-parliament-2017/draft-human-rights-act-report-published-17-19/

These routine systemic failings and the consequent wide ranging devastating impact from such failings necessitate not just an enquiry or some cosmetic reforms or even closure of an immigration removal centre. Rather, such failings warrant ending immigration detention as a policy option.

Our research team

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Migrant Action is committed to its partnership with the local community expressed in variety of ways. By offering volunteering and student placement opportunities we grow our local partnership and empower individuals to make positive contribution to our work and the wider society. As an organisation, we recognise the value of research in evidencing our stance and interventions. We are delighted that these 3 ‘young researchers’ from the University of Leeds have taken a keen interest in these areas of Migrant Action’s work and wish to investigate with the view to increasing our collective understanding and capacity to respond so as to make a positive difference to the experiences of migrants.  Many thanks to Maddie, Rohde and Paddy! 

( Fidelis Chebe- Project Director Migrant Action)

‘In the shadows’: The problem of isolation among International Students

My name is Rohdé and I’m a Dutch student studying at the University of Leeds. My role within Migrant Action in the Research team focuses on international students in Leeds and the isolation problems they face moving to the UK. Research has proven that international students run into social, academic and psychological isolation when they move to a new country and I want to find out what problems international students in Leeds experience. 

By doing that, I hope I can find out how the universities in Leeds can improve their policies and support arrangements for international students and how Migrant Action as a local organisation working with migrants can respond proactively to these challenges and help contribute to a more positive experience for international students. 

De-skilling of Migrants- Madeleine Tarrant

Maddie is a third-year Philosophy student at the University of Leeds and volunteer for Migrant Action and is part of the research team. This research activity and volunteering is part of Maddie’s final year project at university and she hopes that the research would help influence and inform future Migrant Action initiatives. The project is based around the problem of deskilling amongst migrants, with a particular focus on the occurrence of deskilling in Leeds itself. 

Maddie states; ‘This is a phenomenon that is scarcely discussed in mainstream media and conversation but I hope that my research will help to change this. I am exploring the systematic nature of deskilling amongst explanations of why it occurs, and so far my research has highlighted the existence of underlying, institutionalised racism and prejudices which inform employment policies and make it increasingly difficult for skilled migrants to obtain qualification matched work. 

Through a series of interviews I hope to uncover the grievous human cost this has on individuals, families and societies. My final aim is to use my research to help Migrant Action to tackle the problem of deskilling, and provide migrants with the support and assistance needed to find appropriate, skill-matched employment’. 

Paddy Smith- Migration Briefings

Paddy is a second-year Geography student at Leeds University and is examining global migration and implications of these movements for migrants and host societies. As a volunteer and part of the Migrant Action research team, Paddy would produce a series of migration briefings to;

Unpack migration discourses and policies and their manifestations within the local community of Leeds.  The briefings would investigate and propose an alternative humane narrative to the dominant divisive discourse underpinned by anti-migration sentiments. The briefings also set out to;

Engage people from all walks of life to support Migrant Action from ranging from students to policy makers. Raise Awareness of migration issues, Challenge the overuse of vulnerability in the migration discourse – briefings would highlight the use of language as a tool of subjugation and disempowerment of migrants therefore articulate the need for a shift, Challenge hostile environment policy – take a critical focus on the actions of the government and Community engagement – consider migration issues within the local community of Leeds

Waiting in the Dark: Refugee Action Report on Asylum Decision-Making

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Refugee Action has just launched a report, ‘Waiting in the dark: how the asylum system dehumanises, disempowers and damages’, as part of their #StandUpForAsylum campaign. The report exposes the human impact of Home Office failures throughout the decision-making process. In particular, it highlights that more people than ever before are waiting longer than six months for a decision on their claim which has devastating consequences for their health and wellbeing.

The report articulates bad practices, in particular around substantive interviews, and poor decision-making. People are being kept in the dark by a lack of information and legal advice, with 71% of frontline organisations reporting that it is now more difficult to refer people to immigration solicitors than six years ago. Please share the findings of the report across your networks.

Migration Partnership Barnsley: Engaging Communities, Transforming lives 

Migrant Action and its partners have launched a new initiative aimed to better engage with and serve migrant communities in Barnsley.  Covid-19 disproportionately affected minoritized communities especially irregular migrants and people with no recourse to public funds. The pandemic also exacerbated pre-existing inequalities and fragile community structures and relationships that undermine effective engagement, access, and representation of migrant communities. 

The Migration Partnership (a collaboration of Migrant Action, Feels Like Home, The Polish Library and ELSH) offers a migrant-led infrastructure for the sustainable engagement and meaningful participation of migrant communities in mainstream activity.    The new Multi-agency Hub drop-in (weekly) at Hope House Church will allow a practical and safe space for collaborative service delivery and better access of holistic service provision in Barnsley. It will also act as a local Connection hub for strengthening relationships across services, migrant communities and local authority through conversations and better understanding of the realities of migrant and local communities.  Overall, the multi-agency hub acts as a catalyst for change by improving access to services, ensure effective integration and stronger communities and transforming lives. 

Huge thanks to Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council for endorsing and resourcing the work of the Migration Partnership. 

For more information about the Migration Partnership and Multi-agency Hub (drop-in), please contact Fidelis Chebe, fidelis@migrantaction.org.uk  or migrationpartnershipbarnsley@gmail.com