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Community Resilience: Reflections on our Preparing for the Illegal Migration Act Workshop

14th February 2024 by ficheb

By Fidelis Chebe and Georgia Hawthorne

On Tuesday the 6th of February, Migrant Action and Right To Remain co-hosted a workshop event discussing the Illegal Migration Act (IMA), how it is being enforced and how it is impacting our community. This event brought together a collective of different charities, organisations and individuals who are seeking to challenge the hostile effects of the IMA, and who support migrants within the local area. Events like these remind us of the importance of community, collective action and collective power. It is through coming together and collaborating that we can better address the unjust impacts of migration policies and support those who are vulnerable within our society.

A Note on Language: 

The Illegal Migration Act is problematic in its coding of human beings as legal or illegal. This following quote from Right To Remain details their difficulty with this term,

[The term “illegal”] is clearly dehumanising and apathetic to the experiences of people seeking sanctuary or a better life, whose journey to the United Kingdom (UK) was dictated by nothing more than an accident of birth. Second, it is factually incorrect. The act of migrating is not inherently illegal – not under entrenched principles of international law and policy. People move; we always have, and we always will. Third, it is grammatically incorrect. In any other arena, if an individual commits a crime, they do something illegal, they don’t become something illegal. In this way, our well-known belief that #NoOneIsIllegal has become increasingly poignant and urgent. [1]

What is the Illegal Migration Act?

In short, the IMA is a piece of legislation which aims to stop migration to the UK by irregular means: whether that’s small boat crossings, travelling clandestinely, or using false documents to arrive and remain in the UK. The Illegal Migration Bill passed into law in July 2023, thus becoming an Act, but not all sections of the Act have yet been enforced. 

In the workshop presentation, the Right to Remain legal education officer Leah Cowling, set out the legal technicalities of the Act. The presentation highlighted what parts of the Act have and have not been enforced, which sections are workable or unworkable, and the currently not-enforced lynchpin of the Act.  This Right To Remain blog explicitly unpacked the legal technicalities of the Act: link.

The IMA goes against the Refugee Convention of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and is incompatible with both the European Convention Against Trafficking (ECAT) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). In the workshop discussion, it is acknowledged that deterrence is largely ineffective at stopping the flow of migration and rather, exacerbates the risk and danger of unsafe routes to the UK.  Also, the potential criminalisation of asylum would likely result in more poverty, destitution and vulnerability to exploitation, abuse and other forms of migrant injustice within the UK for precarious migrants with insecure/irregular migration status.  

See Right to Remains’ blog post that provides a good summary of this: Link.  These migrant vulnerabilities and injustices are confronted through Migrant Action’s advice and casework whereby we provide a range of support interventions with limited resources.

The Impact of the IMA on our Communities

Through a panel discussion and group tasks, we spent time examining the impact of the IMA on our communities. Key themes of fear, anxiety and distrust were voiced, with it being emphasised that such a hostile Act impacts everyone not just migrants. The increased pressure felt amongst volunteer groups seeking to fill gaps in current UK welfare provision was also noted, with the opacity and fluctuating nature of the Act making it difficult to keep up with, to understand, and to challenge in this sector. 

Main Takeaways

  • The importance of collaborative and a collective effort – we are stronger together.

The collective organising of campaigns allows for creativity and endurance in tackling social injustice and in supporting those who are vulnerable in our community. Connections between groups should be fostered and encouraged through more events like this workshop. 

  • It is time to ‘mainstream’ issues of migration (in)justice. 

We need to stop discussing and treating issues of migration injustice as niche problems that only impact a portion of our community. Issues facing many migrants in the UK – such as destitution and homelessness, mental health struggles, inaccessible healthcare – overlap with issues faced by all of us. Bridges need to be forged between migration charities and other sectors, in turn strengthening our potential power as a collective. 

  • More public education

Awareness and understanding of complex migration issues (legislation, policies, context and impact analyses etc) in order to prevent harmful narratives/practices and effective organising for positive change requires public education and community engagement.

Conclusion

Migrant Action is a rights and migrant justice organisation supporting vulnerable migrants including, but not limited to, people confronted by insecure and irregular immigration status. We anticipate that IMA will force more people into this category who will reach out for support from Migrant Action. In preparing for the Act as part of a wider network and support infrastructure, we will continue to develop learning and community organising partnerships with other organisations to strengthen public education and building capacity for system change. 

   

Filed Under: frontpage, frontslider, Our Activities, Uncategorized Tagged With: community engagement, community resilience, Hostile environment, Migrant Action

Migrant Action: 2023 Review!

26th January 2024 by ficheb

By Georgia Hawthorne, Volunteer

2023 was a huge year for Migrant Action, with lots of successes, collaborations and an expanding awareness of the essential work that we do.  There have also been some enduring challenges, with state hostility and austerity measures negatively impacting migrant communities and placing pressure on our resources and capacity as an organisation. Going forwards, we will continue to challenge systemic injustice, maintaining resilience within our organisation and the communities we support whilst driving forwards transformative social change.

Check out the complete report for more details:

Migrant-Action-2023-ReviewDownload

In 2024, we will continue advocating for migration justice, humane migration, and a liberating future for migrants. 

Filed Under: frontpage, frontslider, Our Activities Tagged With: community resilience, Migrant Action, migration justice

Galvanising resistance against increasing visa fees and the Immigration Health Surcharge: The power of collaboration

3rd January 2024 by ficheb

By Holly Mogford – PhD student at Swansea University and Patients not Passports (PNP) campaigner.

In recent years, and amidst the hostile environment, immigration and nationality fees have broadened in scope and increased in amount. In doing so, the lives of many migrants have become extremely challenging. As documented by Migrant Voice (n.d.), the financial burden, for many, is combined with “mental and physical health problems, with some sacrificing food, heating, and electricity to save up for their visas”.

At the time of writing, there are a total of 168 immigration and nationality fee categories listed by the Home Office (UKVI, 2023). Among these categories is indefinite leave to remain (ILR) – main applicants and dependents, which is currently set at £2,885. In setting the fee at this rate, a significant profit is made. In October 2021, for example, when ILR was set at £2,389, the unit cost was £243, this resulted in profits of 883% (see Migrant Voice, 2022, p. 18).

In the summer of 2023, the government announced plans to increase visa fees and the Immigration Health Surcharge to fund part of the public sector pay offer. The Immigration Health Surcharge is a requisite component of visa and immigration applications. It was introduced in 2015 and was initially set at £200 (Burnett & Chebe, 2020). It has since increased to £624 and is again set to increase at the start of 2024 to £1035 (McKinney et al., 2023). This proposal has encountered significant resistance from public sectors workers, migrants, and campaigners, among many others invested in migrant justice.

Resistance against extortionate visa fees and the Immigration Health Surcharge existed prior to this recent juncture. Migrant Action respond directly to these fees. Hence, it was within this existing pursuit of migrant justice that Migrant Action joined the National Day of Action called by Migrant Voice, pursuing efforts of structural change.

On the 31st of October, Migrant Action joined in solidarity with individuals and organisations across the United Kingdom to resist the announced increases to visa fees and the Immigration Health Surcharge. The date of the event, Halloween, was aptly symbolic of the devasting impact of visa and immigration fees.

In hoping to spread awareness of this impact, Migrant Action organised a sign-making session at Leeds University followed by a series of presentations which focused on related research. The first speaker was Holly Mogford, a PhD student at Swansea University and a Patient’s not Passports campaigner. The presentation documented the socio-legal framework of NHS (sur)charging which has eroded the principle of universality in the NHS (Potter, 2018). This was followed by a presentation delivered by Dr Jon Burnett, a lecturer at the University of Hull. The presentation reflected upon a report by Migrant Voice (2022), in which Jon contributed by situating immigration fees in 21st century Britain, highlighting the profit made from certain immigration fees and visas. These presentations initiated discussion around the distinct, but inevitably related implications of NHS (sur)charges, immigration and visa fees. This was followed by an informative stall and demonstration in Leeds led by students.

The National Day of Action showcased the unity and support in resisting increasing visa fees and the Immigration Health Surcharge. This action powerfully cut across a vast array of organisations and individuals working towards migrant justice. It was a significant moment in time, yet, crucially, efforts to prevent the suffering imposed by extortionate visa fees and the Immigration Health Surcharge continue each day, whether this be by spreading awareness, lobbying to MP’s or providing direct support and advocacy to those impacted by these fees.

References

Burnett, J., & Chebe, F. (2020). Towards a political economy of charging regimes: Fines, fees and force in UK immigration control. The British Journal of Criminology, 60(3), 579-599. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjc/azz070

McKinney, CJ, Meade, L., Sturge, G., & Barton, C. (2023). UK Immigration Fees. UK Parliament. https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-9859/#:~:text=Application%20fees%20recently%20went%20up,and%20student%20visas%20by%2035%25.

Migrant Voice. (n.d.). Our campaign against the extortionate cost of visas. https://www.migrantvoice.org/visa-costs-campaign

Migrant Voice. (2022). Destroying Hopes, Dreams and Lives: How the UK visa costs and process impact migrants lives. https://www.migrantvoice.org/img/upload/Visa_fees_report_-_digital_final_to_upload.pdf

Potter, J. (2018). Patients Not Passports-No borders in the NHS! Justice, Power and Resistance, 2(2), 417‐429. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/327252907_Patients_Not_Passports-No_borders_in_the_NHS/citations

UKVI. (2023). Home Office immigration and nationality fees: 25 October 2023. Home Office. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/visa-regulations-revised-table/home-office-immigration-and-nationality-fees-25-october-2023

Filed Under: frontpage, frontslider, Our Activities Tagged With: Day of Action, demonstration, Health Surcharge, Hostile environment, Migrant Action, NHS, protest

Volunteering: Building a hopeful environment for migrants

30th December 2023 by ficheb

Author- Fidelis Chebe

Migrant Action’s work is focused on, but not limited to, humanitarian and migration justice. It also articulates intersectionality of human rights, economic, social, racial and climate justice, hence forges transformative solidarity and allyship for systemic justice.   Through our radical collaborative approach, we create welcoming, supportive, and enabling environments for transformational social change and migration justice towards a liberative futures for migrants.

Our diverse team of volunteers harness their lived experience of migration and systemic injustice and a variety of skills and expertise, to enable Migrant Action to deliver vital humanitarian support services to migrant whilst facilitating systemic change.  In essence, our volunteers are ‘activists’ working in solidarity, in pursuit of migration justice.

Our volunteering support currently involves but not limited to the following activities: fundraising, advice, casework and advocacy support, research, campaigning for policy change, social media communications, data analysis, outreach & community engagement. The impact of volunteering for the organisation, beneficiaries, communities, and volunteers themselves is transformative.

Our team of volunteers reflect and help embed Migrant Action’s radical collaborative and inclusive approach and help unleash hope and resilience.  Above all, they strengthen solidarity towards a liberative future for migrants and migration justice.

If you would like to join our amazing team of volunteers and be part of the wider movement for migration justice and social change, please contact Migrant Action via email; info@migrantaction.org.uk

Filed Under: frontpage, frontslider, Our Team Tagged With: Migrant Action, volunteering, volunteers

Migrant status and destitution: It’s time to sever the link

30th December 2023 by ficheb

By Georgia Hawthorne, volunteer.

The Trussell Trust, 2019

A recent report by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) has highlighted the continuing link between migration status in the UK and experiences of destitution. Essentially, the report decries destitution induced by a continuum of government policies designed to create a hostile environment for migrants. The inhumane consequences of these policies including but not limited to destitution have been exacerbated by austerity policies and the cost-of-living crisis. The JRF reports urge for the need to break this connection between migrant status and destitution and highlights the cruelty of policy-induced destitution. It is not radical to say that no human being deserves to experience such extreme poverty and inhumanity. In one sense, destitution has become a core feature of the migration policy and migration control regimes.

Asylum Seekers and Destitution
The JRF report points to three key drivers which contribute to this linking of migrant status and destitution: the inefficient and inaccurate processing of asylum claims; the lack of financial support, or ability to support oneself and any dependents, whilst in the asylum system; and thirdly, the drastic shortening of the ‘move on’ period when an asylum claim is eventually approved.

  1. Inaccurate and Inefficient processing of asylum claims

The UK government’s routine systemic failings in the handling of asylum claims in a timely and accurate manner is contributing to an ever-building backlog of people waiting for decisions. The report details a record number of people waiting on asylum claims, and points to figures obtained by the Refugee Council in June 2022 which reveal how a third of asylum claimants had been waiting for a decision on their initial claim for one to three years [1]. Contributing even further to this building backlog, according to Home Office data, 53% of asylum claim appeals have been successful [2]. So, even when eventually completed, the decision making is oftentimes inaccurate and worthy of questioning. This governmental ineptitude creates an ongoing crisis of people suspended in limbo, unable to start the process of rebuilding their lives in the UK.

Recommendation: The report calls for the government to commit to more efficient, accurate and timely decision-making in the asylum system.

  1. Insufficient financial support whilst in the Asylum System

Asylum seekers are insufficiently supported by the government while awaiting a decision on their application. The basic rate of asylum support in the UK is £47.39 per week, per person in a household – this doesn’t even match the Universal Credit Standard allowance for a single person and is simply not enough to cover the basic essentials [3]. Those waiting on asylum claims are limited in their capacity to support themselves and any dependents, as work is made inaccessible to them. In order to apply to work, an asylum seeker will have had to wait more than twelve months for a decision on their claim. Further, not everyone can apply for permission to work. Lift The Ban (2020) have reported on how adult dependents seeking asylum are barred from working, with this group of people being significantly more likely to be women [4]. This leaves these women more financially dependent on their male counterparts, and thus more vulnerable.

Recommendation: JRF believe asylum seekers, and their adult dependents, should have the right to work after six months.

  1. Shortening of the ‘move on’ period

JRF’s report finally takes issue with what is called the ‘move on’ period. This ‘move on’ period, is the time allowed for people who have recently been granted refugee status to move from the asylum system to being self-supported in the UK. This transition requires refugees to find alternative accommodation, a job, or access Universal Credit support – all administrative tasks which are complicated and require time. In the same vein as other hostile environment policies, this ‘grace’ period has been drastically shortened. As of August 2023, this ‘move-on’ period has been shortened to just seven days. This is simply not enough time for anyone – let alone new refugees in an unfamiliar country, not likely to speak the language – to transition to a self-supported lifestyle. As the JRF report highlights, the repeated shortening of this period further increases the likelihood of destitution

Recommendation: JRF are calling for the extension of this ‘move on’ period to 56 days to give people the time to transition into secure housing, work and / or benefits support.

No Recourse to Public Funds – ‘No Safety Net’
Migrants in the UK, who are not necessarily here to seek asylum, also experience this heightened risk of destitution. This is a problem which is only getting worse, with the report noting a 155% increase in the number of children experiencing destitution in a household headed by someone who is a migrant [5] [6]. The common theme in the JRF report is the fact that there is ‘no safety net’ for these people.

Many migrant visas are granted with the condition of having ‘no recourse to public funds’ (NRPF). Those who have NRPF cannot seek governmental support in a time of crisis, and thus are more susceptible to experiencing destitution. Estimates suggest that nearly 1.6 million people in the UK have this NRPF condition attached to their visa, and these people include those who have been issued a visa to work in the health and social care sector here, children who have migrated to join a family member, anyone undergoing the process of seeking asylum, and people who are undocumented [7]. As longer routes towards settlement have become the norm, people are experiencing lengthier periods with NRPF. This economic vulnerability is compounded by a more expensive route to settlement, with it costing an adult at least £12,800 when on the ten-year route to settlement [8].

This continued dearth of support from central government increases the pressure on local authorities, charities and foodbanks, who all have a responsibility to support people regardless of their migration status. Yet, these organisations receive inadequate financial support to help vulnerable people experiencing destitution, and thus are limited in their capacity to combat such a widespread crisis.

JRF Recommendations:

  • Remove local welfare funding from the list of restricted public funds, this would mean everyone has access to an emergency safety net
  • Make it quicker and easier for NRPF status to be lifted for people facing hardship
  • Cap routes to settlement at five years
  • Review visa fees and the Immigration Health Surcharge
  • Design clearer and shorter routes to regularisation when people have fallen out of status
  • Have a root and branch review of NRPF, with the report suggesting initial steps could involve allowing recourse to child-related benefits and support with childcare costs

Our work at Migrant Action
Here at Migrant Action, we work to support migrants directly with the effects of hostile policies, this includes helping those currently struggling with having no recourse to public funds. Our work is two-fold in its approach, as we also seek to address the structural causes of injustices which compromise migrant rights. In this instance, we want to sever the link between migration status and destitution, not just through supporting those who have experienced destitution, but also through addressing the unjust policies which facilitate this connection in the first place.

References
JRF Briefing: https://www.jrf.org.uk/protection-for-everyone-in-our-communities
[1] Refugee Council (2022) New figures reveal scale of asylum backlog crisis. Available at: https://www.refugeecouncil.org.uk/latest/news/new-figures-reveal-scale-of-asylum- backlog-crisis/ (refugeecouncil.org.uk) [Accessed: 15 December 2023].
[2] Home Office (2023) National statistics: How many people do we grant protection to? Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-system-statistics- year-ending-june-2023/how-many-people-do-we-grant-protection-to (gov.uk) [Accessed: 15 December 2023].
[3] Gov.uk (2023b) Asylum support. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/asylum- support/what-youll-get (gov.uk) [Accessed: 15 December 2023].
[4] Lift The Ban (2020) Lift the ban: Why giving people seeking asylum the right to work is common sense. Available at: https://lifttheban.co.uk/wp- content/uploads/2020/07/Lift-The-Ban-Common-Sense.pdf (lifttheban.co.uk) [Accessed: 15 December 2023].
[5] Fitzpatrick, S, Bramley, G, Blenkinsopp, J, Wood, J, Sosenko, F, Littlewood, M, Johnsen, S, Watts, B, Treanor, M, McIntyre, J (2020) Destitution in the UK 2020. Available at: https://www.jrf.org.uk/report/destitution-uk-2020 (jrf.org.uk) [Accessed: 15 December 2023].
[6] Fitzpatrick, S. Bramley, G. Treanor, M. Blenkinsopp, J. McIntyre, J. Johnsen, S. and McMordie, L. (2023) Destitution in the UK 2023. Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Available at: https://www.jrf.org.uk/report/destitution-uk-2023 [Accessed 15 December 2023].
[7] McKinney, CJ, and Sumption M (2021) Migrants on 10-year routes to settlement in the UK. Available at: https://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/resources/briefings/migrants- on-ten-year-routes-to-settlement-in-the- uk/#:~:text=This%20briefing%20looks%20at%20migrants,rather%20than%20the%20us ual%20five.&text=Most%20migrants%20with%20permission%20to,to%20settle%20aft er%20five%20years. (migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk) [Accessed: 15 December 2023].
[8] Mort, L, Whitaker-Yilmaz, J, Morris, M, and Shah, A (2023) A punishing process: Experiences of people on the 10-year route to settlement. Available at: https://www.ippr.org/files/2023-03/10-year-route-march23.pdf (ippr.org) [Accessed: 15 December 2023].

Image: https://www.trusselltrust.org/2019/11/06/working-people-at-food-banks/ [Accessed: 30 December 2023]

Filed Under: frontpage, frontslider, Reports and Case Studies Tagged With: asylum seekers, cost of living crisis, destitution, Hostile environment, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Migrant Action, UK government

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