The decision to transfer asylum seekers from one accommodation centre to another was marked by official insensitivity, intransigence and intimidation, according to an Irish Refugee Council report. In June 2010, the Irish Reception and Integration Agency (RIA) wrote to 109 of the 800 or so asylum seekers resident at its accommodation centre at Mosney, County
Theme: Education
Legal aid cuts: exclusion from justice
Today the IRR publishes a briefing paper about the impact of the proposed legal aid cuts in the field of immigration. The legal aid cuts proposed by the ministry of justice, which remove most immigration cases from the scope of all legal help and advice, will have a devastating effect on migrants’ access to justice,
Glasgow eviction battle continues
The UK Border Agency’s (UKBA) shocking conduct over its proposed evictions in Glasgow needs urgent investigation, says Glasgow housing charity Positive Action in Housing (PAIH). Following the 15 November demonstration against UKBA’s service of eviction notices on 600 asylum-seeking families in Glasgow (read an IRR News story: ‘Asylum-seeking families in Glasgow face imminent move’), it
Justice for Jimmy Mubenga
Recent news from the campaign for justice for Jimmy Mubenga. Jimmy died on 12 October 2010 after an attempt to deport him to Angola on a BA flight. According to news reports Jimmy died after allegedly being restrained by three guards from G4S, a company contracted (at the time) by the UK Border Agency (UKBA)
Giuseppe Conlon House opens in London
A new London Catholic Worker project offering hospitality to refugees and other vulnerable people has opened in East London. Named Giuseppe Conlon House, wrongfully imprisoned as a member of the Maguire Seven in 1975 and father of the Guildford Four’s Gerry Conlon, the house has already been functioning as a refuge for undocumented migrants in
Call for justice for Jimmy Mubenga
On 12 November 2010, over 150 people marched from the Angolan Embassy to the Home Office in protest at the death of Jimmy Mubenga during a deportation. Campaigners from the Angolan community first delivered a letter to the Angolan Embassy to call on the authorities to intervene. The march, led by the family and friends
Asylum-seeking families in Glasgow face imminent move
UKBA has cancelled its contract with Glasgow City Council for the accommodation of asylum seekers, leaving hundreds of families with the prospect of moving out of the city. On 5 November 2010, the UK Border Agency wrote to all the 600 or so asylum- seeking families housed by Glasgow City Council on its behalf, telling
Demonstration in memory of Jimmy Mubenga
A demonstration in memory of Angolan man Jimmy Mubenga who died after being restrained during a forced deportation earlier this month. Friday 12 November 2010, 10.30am Angolan Embassy, 22 Dorset Street, London W1U 6QY (nearest tube stations: Baker Street/ Marylebone) to march to the Home Office, 2 Marsham Street, London SW1P 4DF Related links Download
Ending children’s detention: hope deferred
The announcement that children will continue to be detained until at least March 2011 reveals the coalition’s true priorities. It was supposed to be the face of the compassionate, caring coalition, defying cynical critics and overriding entrenched bureaucratic cruelty to do the right thing. ‘We will end the immigration detention of children’, the bold announcement
The politics of voluntary returns
Outrage greeted French prime minister Sarkozy’s description of the mass expulsion of Roma as ‘voluntary’ – but what is the reality of voluntary return programmes in the UK? The International Organization for Migration (IOM), an intergovernmental body which implements most voluntary return schemes, received around £70 million from the Home Office since 2005 (including money