‘Disrespectful of the rule of law’? – Doughty Street Chambers

‘In Maleci (Non-admission of late evidence) [2024] UKUT 00028 (IAC) the Upper Tribunal, chaired by the President, has sought to address a long-running problem in both tiers of the Immigration and Asylum Chamber: the Home Office’s failure to comply with directions or co-operate in proper case management.’

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Doughty Street Chamber, 22nd February 2024

Source: insights.doughtystreet.co.uk

Migrant Work, Gender and the Hostile Environment: A Human Rights Analysis – Industrial Law Journal

‘This article addresses work-related and gendered harms of the “hostile environment”, a set of measures implemented through the Immigration Acts of 2014 and 2016, which aims to make life in the UK impossible for irregular migrants. The hostile environment criminalises work without legal status, facilitates data sharing between public bodies and immigration enforcement, and restricts access services and benefits. The article examines factors that can make women susceptible to irregularity and exposure to hostile environment measures, and distinctive forms of gendered harm such as workplace sexual harassment. It argues that the detrimental impacts of the hostile environment contravene international and regional human rights obligations. Barring certain migrants from access to the labour market may violate the socio-economic right to work and/ or the right to private and family life, while a lack of access to legal remedy or labour inspection fuelled can violate migrants’ right to decent work and undermine protections against forced labour. The UK’s recent ratification of the Council of Europe’s “Istanbul Convention” and ILO Convention 190 on violence and harassment at work signifies a renewed commitment to safeguarding women regardless of migration status, but the universalistic potential of these instruments is undermined by the hostile environment’s continued operation.’

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Industrial Law Journal, March 2024

Source: academic.oup.com

Rwanda bill could become law without independent scrutiny, says ex-watchdog – The Guardian

‘Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda deportation bill could be forced on to the statute books without fulfilling the government’s legal commitment to independent scrutiny, the former borders watchdog has told peers.’

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The Guardian, 19th March 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Home Office attempt to deport UK-born man was illegal, judge says – The Guardian

Posted March 19th, 2024 in citizenship, deportation, government departments, immigration, news by tracey

‘The Home Office acted unlawfully in trying to deport a British-born man who has never left the country to Portugal, from where his parents arrived more than 30 years ago, a judge has ruled.’

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The Guardian, 18th March 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Two jailed for trying to smuggle migrants out of UK – BBC News

Posted March 18th, 2024 in immigration, imprisonment, news, sentencing, trafficking in human beings by tracey

‘Two men have been jailed for a total of 12 years for trying to smuggle migrants out of the UK in a refrigerated lorry.’

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BBC News, 15th March 2024

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

The UK and the ECHR After Brexit: The Challenge of Immigration Control – EIN Blog

Posted March 15th, 2024 in asylum, brexit, EC law, human rights, immigration, news by sally

‘This article examines the challenges that immigration control-related political imperatives in the United Kingdom (UK) have posed for UK compliance with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and evaluates the challenges that the UK’s moving away from ECHR compliance pose for its post-Brexit relationship with the European Union (EU) and its member states. The contribution begins with an examination of the constitutional parameters of UK (non-)compliance with the ECHR in the field of immigration control and the implications of this for the post-Brexit arrangements with the EU and its member states. The contribution then focuses on substantive immigration and refugee law and the impact of the current situation on asylum transfer co-operation within and outside of the EU. Through these areas, the article examines how EU law has infiltrated the interpretation of the ECHR with the result of raising standards of protection for asylum seekers and migrants and hampering the exercise of state sovereignty in the field.’

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EIN Blog, 14th March 2024

Source: www.ein.org.uk

Madeline Gleeson & Theodore Konstadinides: The UK’s Rwanda policy and Lessons from Australia- UK Constitutional Law Association

‘In November 2023, the Supreme Court of the UK dealt a critical blow to the government’s proposal to send certain asylum seekers to the Republic of Rwanda. In AAA and Others v the Home Secretary, the Court ruled that removal to Rwanda would be unlawful because that country was not, at the time, a ‘safe country’.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 14th March 2024

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

Court of appeal decides the secretary of state is wrong, wrong, wrong: the charter applies to people with pre-settled status – Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law

‘Previously in the saga of benefits and pre-settled status (PSS – the status awarded to EU nationals and their family members covered by the Withdrawal Agreement if they have been in the UK less than 5 years), the UK government introduced regulations in 2019 stipulating that PSS awarded under the EU Settlement Scheme was not a sufficient right to reside for EU nationals to pass the habitual residence test when claiming many benefits. These regulations were challenged on the basis that they were discriminatory on the grounds of nationality, and while the Court of Appeal (COA) agreed in Fratila v SSWP [2020] EWCA Civ 1741, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) found in CG that people with PSS were not protected from nationality discrimination (Case C-709/20 CG v The Department for Communities in Northern Ireland EU:C:2021:602).’

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Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law, 8th March 2024

Source: www.tandfonline.com

Civil servants threaten ministers with legal action over Rwanda bill – The Guardian

‘Civil servants have threatened ministers with legal action over concerns that senior Home Office staff could be in breach of international law if they implement the government’s Rwanda deportation bill.’

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The Guardian, 12th March 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Home Office is dysfunctional, says ex-borders watchdog David Neal – BBC News

Posted March 11th, 2024 in government departments, immigration, news, whistleblowers by tracey

‘The Home Office is dysfunctional and in urgent need of reform, the recently-sacked independent borders inspector has told the BBC’s Today Podcast.’

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BBC News, 11th March 2024

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Navigating the New UK Unmarried Partner Visa Rules – Richmond Chambers

Posted March 8th, 2024 in chambers articles, cohabitation, families, immigration, news, visas by sally

‘To enter the UK as a “partner” under Appendix FM to the Immigration Rules (“FM” being short for “Family Member”), there are three possible ways to qualify as a “partner”. First, as a “spouse”. Second, as a “civil partner”. Third, as an “unmarried partner”.’

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Richmond Chambers, 28th February 2024

Source: immigrationbarrister.co.uk

Afghanistan: Judge hunted by Taliban wins court case against UK government – BBC News

Posted March 8th, 2024 in Afghanistan, asylum, government departments, immigration, judges, news by sally

‘An Afghan judge who has been forced to go into hiding from the Taliban was wrongly refused relocation to the UK, the High Court has ruled.’

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BBC News, 7th March 2024

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Rwanda bill: House of Lords inflicts further defeats on government plan – BBC News

Posted March 7th, 2024 in asylum, bills, deportation, immigration, news, parliament, Rwanda by sally

‘The government has suffered five further defeats in the House of Lords over its Rwanda bill.’

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BBC News, 6th March 2024

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Stopping migrant care workers bringing their families will have a devastating effect on the UK’s already struggling care sector – EIN Blog

Posted March 6th, 2024 in care workers, families, government departments, immigration, news, visas by sally

‘The home secretary, James Cleverly, has reiterated the UK government’s plan to stop overseas care workers bringing dependants to the UK. Taking to X (formerly Twitter) on February 19, he wrote: “Today in Parliament we have laid out an order to ban overseas care workers from bringing dependants. This is just one part of our plan to deliver the biggest-ever cut in migration.”‘

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EIN Blog, 5th March 2024

Source: www.ein.org.uk

Calls for inquiry after refugee children made to guess who got foster care in ‘game’ – The Guardian

‘Foster families and social workers are demanding an independent inquiry after it emerged that Home Office-employed staff forced refugee children to play a game to guess who would be the next one to be placed in foster care.’

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The Guardian, 4th March 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

When Treaties are Forbidden – EIN Blog

‘Safe Third Country (STC) agreements involve the transfer of protection-seekers from one State to another. They take different forms, including bilateral treaties (the UK-Rwanda Treaty), political agreements (the Italy-Albania MoU) and regional mechanisms (Dublin III). They are usually justified as a means of sharing responsibility for protecting refugees and ‘managing’ access to asylum determination processes, as is the case for the Canada-US Safe Third Country Agreement. In other contexts their explicit purpose is to deter and to punish.

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EIN Blog, 29th February 2024

Source: www.ein.org.uk

Sunak’s asylum laws trapping 55,000 people in ‘perma-backlog’, says UK thinktank – The Guardian

Posted February 28th, 2024 in asylum, delay, deportation, government departments, immigration, news, Rwanda by sally

‘Rishi Sunak’s asylum laws have introduced a “perma-backlog” of up to 55,000 people who cannot have their claims processed and risk being left indefinitely in taxpayer-funded temporary accommodation, according to a new report.’

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The Guardian, 28th February 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Hundreds of small boat migrants charged with illegal entry to UK after new powers come into force – The Independent

Posted February 27th, 2024 in asylum, children, immigration, news, prosecutions, young persons by tracey

‘Hundreds of small boat migrants have been charged with arriving illegally in the UK, or arranging the arrival of others, in the year after new powers came into force. New analysis from the University of Oxford and a coalition of charities shows that in the year following the expansion of the government’s new laws on restricting channel crossings, the Nationality and Borders Act, some 240 small boat migrants were charged with illegal arrival to the UK.’

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The Independent, 26th February 2024

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Asylum seeker with home-made boat sentenced after four migrants die in Channel – The Independent

‘An asylum seeker has been detained for nine years and six months for the manslaughter of fellow migrants who drowned trying to cross the English Channel.’

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The Independent, 23rd February 2024

Source: www.independent.co.uk

UK signs new deal with EU to tackle small boat crossings – BBC News

Posted February 23rd, 2024 in asylum, EC law, government departments, immigration, news, trafficking in human beings by michael

‘The UK has signed a new deal with the EU’s border agency to work more closely together to stop small boats crossing the English Channel.’

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BBC News, 23rd February 2024

Source: www.bbc.co.uk