The government is creating more ‘spaces’ at removal centres as part of its drive to deport more asylum seekers. In March 2009, giving oral evidence to a Commons Public Accounts Committee, Lin Homer, Chief Executive of the UK Border Agency (UKBA), said that a ‘higher proportion’ of deportations occurred of those in detention centres rather
Theme: Education
No glory days for immigrant elders in France
An interview with Boualem Azahoum, an activist with DiverCités and El Ghorba in Lyon. At the Social Forum of the Banlieues (FSQP) at Nanterre, Paris, in October 2008, Naima Bouteldja interviewed Boualem Azahoum, a long-standing activist living in Lyon and a member of DiverCités, a local organisation campaigning on issues such as racism, discrimination, policing,
Unlawfully detained asylum family compensated
The High Court has awarded a family, including a one-year-old baby and a child of eight, £150,000 damages after the Home Office accepted that it had unlawfully arrested and detained them. On 9 February 2009, in the face of court proceedings brought by the family, the Home Office accepted that the family’s arrests and subsequent
New report reveals serious flaws in asylum process
A National Audit Office report confirms many long-standing complaints made by refugee and campaigning groups about unfairness in the asylum process. The report from the National Audit Office (NAO), Management of Asylum Applications by the UK Border Agency, is concerned with value for taxpayers’ money, and at first sight therefore is not a promising source.
Crusade against the undocumented
Every day, across the UK, aggressive raids are being carried out at workplaces to root out those without papers. Britain’s ethnic restaurant sector is under attack from government officials who, in their single-minded drive to meet ever higher targets for deportation, have no interest in the impact of their policies on small family businesses or
‘Citizens for Sanctuary’
On 13 January, over four hundred Zimbabweans gathered in Westminster to demonstrate for permission to work legally in the UK. The event publicly launched the Citizens for Sanctuary campaign, organised to implement the findings of the Independent Asylum Commission which recommended that Zimbabweans currently seeking sanctuary in the UK be allowed to work and pay
‘British handcuffs, the handcuffs of freedom’
We publish the extraordinary testimony of an asylum seeker from the Congo Republic ‘Laurent Mpinde’ who is fighting to stay in the UK and cannot give his real name. Laurent Mpinde, who was studying sports science in Brazzaville and teaching in schools and colleges, was interviewed last year by Jeremy Seabrook researching the book, The
Remote controls against refugees
A new report by the Refugee Council examines how border controls are endangering the lives of refugees. The report, Remote Controls: how UK border controls are endangering the lives of refugees, traces the development and effect of the obstacles put in the way of asylum seekers fleeing to safety in the UK and Europe, and
New immigration code does not fully protect children
The UK Border Agency (UKBA) Code of Practice on Children will not adequately protect children from the harm caused by immigration procedures. The new Code of Practice for Keeping Children Safe from Harm, unveiled by the UK Border Agency on 6 January, was met with scepticism by refugee groups and practitioners. The Code follows the
Queen’s Speech brings gloom for migrants
This is a revised version of the article posted on the IRR website on 5 December 2008. The government’s proposals to strengthen border controls are set to further dehumanise immigration law and make a merry mess of the path to citizenship. The Queen’s Speech at the state opening of parliament on 3 December referred briefly