Category: immigration

Suicides in immigration detention centres kept ‘state secret’ by Home Office, MPs told – The Independent

Posted September 12th, 2018 in detention, government departments, immigration, news, statistics, suicide by tracey

‘Self-inflicted deaths in removal centres are being kept a “state secret” by the Home Office, according to the expert commissioned by the government to carry out a review of the immigration detention estate. Former prison ombudsman Stephen Shaw, who has produced two major reports on immigration removal centres (IRCs), told MPs it was “odd and frankly self-defeating” that the department did not make the numbers of detainee deaths public.’

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The Independent, 11th September 2018

Source: www.independent.co.uk

British boy stranded in Belgium returns home after Home Office grants emergency passport – The Independent

Posted September 11th, 2018 in children, immigration, news, passports by tracey

‘A British-born boy who was blocked from returning to the UK after a holiday has arrived home after Britain agreed to grant him an emergency passport.’

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The Independent, 11th September 2018

Source: www.independent.co.uk

More than 100 pregnant women detained in UK removal centres since major review called for ban – The Independent

Posted September 11th, 2018 in deportation, health, immigration, news, pregnancy, reports, women by tracey

‘More than 100 pregnant women have been detained in UK removal centres in the past two years, despite a government-commissioned review recommending the Home Office ban the practice in 2016.’

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The Independent, 10th September 2018

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Home Office loses 75% of its appeals against immigration rulings – The Guardian

Posted September 5th, 2018 in appeals, government departments, immigration, news, refugees by sally

‘Nearly three-quarters of final immigration court appeals brought by the Home Office against rulings allowing asylum seekers and other migrants to stay in the UK are dismissed, according to figures seen by the Guardian.’

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The Guardian, 3rd September 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

Families of three dead Windrush victims can claim compensation – The Guardian

Posted September 5th, 2018 in compensation, deportation, families, illegality, immigration, news by sally

‘The families of three wrongly deported Windrush victims who died before UK officials were able to repatriate them will be able to claim compensation, the immigration minister has told the House of Commons.’

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The Guardian, 4th September 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

Concerns raised over 59-page handbook on Brexit ‘settled status’ scheme – The Guardian

Posted September 5th, 2018 in brexit, civil servants, immigration, news by sally

‘The Home Office has issued 59 pages of guidance notes to help staff register EU citizens for a post-Brexit scheme that the former home secretary Amber Rudd said would be as easy to apply for as an online account with the clothes retailer LK Bennett.’

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The Guardian, 4th September 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

Trader guilty of UK’s biggest fraud detained prior to deportation – The Guardian

Posted September 4th, 2018 in deportation, fraud, immigration, news by sally

‘Kweku Adoboli, the former trader who was found guilty of causing a $2.3bn (£1.8bn) financial loss, has been detained by the Home Office as preparations for his deportation to Ghana begin.’

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The Guardian, 3rd September 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

Revealed: immigration rules in UK more than double in length – The Guardian

Posted August 30th, 2018 in government departments, immigration, news, regulations, visas by sally

‘Home Office officials have made more than 5,700 changes to the immigration rules since 2010, a Guardian analysis has revealed, making the visa system nearly impossible to navigate, according to senior judges and lawyers.’

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The Guardian, 27th August 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

Immigration lawyer “wrongly claimed” £800,000 in legal aid – Legal Futures

Posted August 30th, 2018 in costs, disciplinary procedures, disqualification, immigration, law firms, legal aid, news, solicitors by sally

‘An immigration lawyer who “wrongly claimed” £800,000 from the Legal Aid Agency (LAA) has been struck off by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT).’

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Legal Futures, 29th August 2018

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

The Right To Data? Campaigners Launch Legal Challenge To Access Home Office Data – Rights Info

Posted August 30th, 2018 in data protection, EC law, government departments, immigration, news by sally

‘Campaigners for the rights of EU citizens in the UK have launched a legal challenge against an exemption in the Data Protection Act which prevents citizens accessing their Home Office records.’

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Rights Info, 29th August 2018

Source: rightsinfo.org

Windrush generation: Formal apology for 18 people – BBC News

Posted August 22nd, 2018 in citizenship, colonies, detention, government departments, immigration, news by sally

‘Eighteen members of the Windrush generation who could have been wrongfully removed or detained are to get a formal apology.’

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BBC News, 21st August 2018

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Court says seriously ill woman can work while fighting UK deportation – The Guardian

Posted August 22nd, 2018 in health, immigration, news, taxation, terrorism, visas by sally

‘Economic migrants forced into destitution by a law forbidding them to work, rent property or use the NHS have been handed a lifeline after a “David and Goliath” battle in the court of appeal.’

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The Guardian, 21st August 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

Abuse victims increasingly denied right to stay in UK – The Guardian

Posted August 17th, 2018 in domestic violence, freedom of information, immigration, married persons, news, statistics, visas by sally

‘The refusal rate for people applying to stay in the UK after suffering domestic violence more than doubled between 2012 and 2016 after the government pledged to make the UK a “hostile environment for illegal immigrants”.’

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The Guardian, 16th August 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

Bogus lawyer convicted for second time – Legal Futures

Posted August 14th, 2018 in electronic monitoring, immigration, impersonation, news, recidivists, sentencing, solicitors, suspended sentences by sally

‘A man has pleaded guilty to five counts of providing unqualified immigration advice and services, some 13 years after an identical conviction.’

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Legal Futures, 14th August 2018

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

In praise of the 1961 Statelessness Convention – by Alison Harvey – No. 5 Chambers

Posted August 7th, 2018 in citizenship, immigration, news, refugees, treaties by sally

‘It is a lot better to have a stateless person’s travel document than to be undocumented. A lot better to have leave as a stateless person than none. But a stateless person with a travel document and leave is still stateless. The 1954 Convention on the Status of Stateless Persons is familiar because of its close resemblance to the 1951 Refugee Convention and, perhaps because of this, it is easy for it to dominate discussions. But the big prizes are to be had in implementing the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, in prevention and reduction of statelessness.’

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No. 5 Chambers, 27th July 2018

Source: www.no5.com

Home Office misled court about treatment of child refugees from Calais, judges find – The Guardian

Posted August 1st, 2018 in children, disclosure, duty of candour, families, government departments, immigration, news, reasons, refugees by sally

‘The government “materially misled” the high court about its treatment of child refugees who applied for safe passage to the UK from Calais, giving incomplete evidence that was “a serious breach of the duty of candour and cooperation”, the court of appeal ruled on Tuesday.’

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The Guardian, 31st July 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

Brexit white paper – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted August 1st, 2018 in brexit, EC law, employment, immigration, news, parliamentary papers, visas by sally

‘on 12 July, the government published its much-anticipated Brexit white paper on the future relationship between the UK and the EU. Secured in cabinet sessions at Chequers, the proposals broadly cover post-Brexit economic and security partnerships, cross-cutting cooperation, and institutional arrangements under the familiar but increasingly threadbare banner of ‘taking back control’. To the surprise of few, the plan was immediately criticised by Brexit hardliners as defeatist, diluted and dispirited. To the surprise of many, including the prime minister herself, it prompted the resignations of foreign secretary Boris Johnson and secretary of state for exiting the EU David Davis.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 30th July 2018

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Thousands of vulnerable people locked in UK immigration centres in ‘unacceptable’ conditions, review finds – The Independent

Posted July 25th, 2018 in detention, immigration, news by tracey

‘Thousands of vulnerable people are being locked in “unacceptable” conditions in immigration detention centres, often for “deeply troubling” lengths of time, a government-commissioned review has found. More than two years after ministers were urged to drastically reduce the use of detention for vulnerable immigrants, a second review by the former prisons and probation ombudsman for England and Wales suggested many people were still being held for months on end in dire circumstances.’

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The Independent, 25th July 2018

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Immigrants being restrained during deportation ‘with little justification’, says prisons watchdog – The Independent

Posted July 24th, 2018 in deportation, immigration, news, reports, restraint by tracey

‘Immigrants being deported from the UK are being strapped into restraint belts “with little justification”, according to a highly critical report on the use of chartered flights for forced removals.’

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The Independent, 24th July 2018

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Windrush scandal: Compensation could be capped under proposed scheme – BBC News

Posted July 20th, 2018 in citizenship, colonies, compensation, immigration, news by tracey

‘Compensation promised to the victims of the Windrush scandal could be capped under government proposals. Launching a 12-week consultation on a compensation scheme, the Home Office said a cap would ensure no-one got a “disproportionately high payment”.’

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BBC News, 19th July 2018

Source: www.bbc.co.uk