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.

Happy New Year from Migrant Action

Dear friends of Migrant Action,

In a few hours, we will be saying ‘good-bye’ to 2021 and ‘welcome’ to 2022. Thank you for your solidarity and support helping to strengthen Migrant Action’s advocacy and pursuit for migrants’ rights & justice in an increasingly challenging and complex environment.  The essence of our work is even more relevant now!

Context

BREXIT, the ‘New immigration bill which reinforces the ‘hostile environment’ policy targeting migrants, the Climate crisis, Covid-19, Systemic racism, negative press narratives fuelling anti-migrant sentiments by sections of the media, protracted conflicts, political violence, human rights violations, economic exploitation, and political marginalisation of the global south.   

These developments constitute a disturbing environment for migrant’s rights & justice.  Firstly, it engineers and sustains vulnerability and the precarious conditions that trigger more mobility of migrants across and within countries.   Secondly, it entrenches and exacerbates an infrastructure that undermine migrants’ capacity to access justice, deepen inequality, racial & social injustice and routinely negate migrant rights and dignity.  In essence, such an environment poses an existential threat to the dignity and humanity of migrants.

Our Response

Migrant Action is adapting and responding to this changing and complex context. We have expanded provision and adapted service delivery model to proactively support vulnerable migrants during the pandemic and beyond. We enhanced our delivery of crisis interventions to prevent homelessness & destitution, increased access to immigration advice for people with insecure immigration, increased integration support for new migrants, assisted more EU migrants to regularise their immigration status in the UK after Brexit.   Our advocacy work continues to promote equity of rights and justice for migrants. Essentially, Migrant Action continues to a lifeline and safety net for vulnerable migrants in this challenging environment.

Migrant Action has also strengthened its capacity and resilience in pursuit of transformational social change. The current context demands more urgency to challenge anti-migrant sentiments and policies, tackle structural inequalities, climate change, systemic racism, and social injustice. To this vein, our strategic advocacy through ‘Strengthening Hands’ partnerships to grow migrant ‘voice’, as well as our collaborative research, capacity building and campaign-based activities have been impactful.

Looking to the future

Migrant Action anticipates operating in an even more challenging context as it grapples with the issues undermining rights and justice. However, we have emerged from 2020/21 with more capacity and resilience to respond to present and future challenges working as a team with staff, volunteers, trustees, partners, funders and of course, those we serve- migrants.  Therefore, we look forward to 2022 with greater hope and fierceness commitment to rights and justice for migrants, a fair and humane immigration system and for a more equal, just, and peaceful society in which everyone including migrants can realize their full potential.

Dear friends, your solidarity remains invaluable and integral to our success, even more so, now!

Thank you and Happy New Year!

Fidelis Chebe

Director