Immigration News Weekly Roundup – 26 January 2024

 Immigration News Weekly Roundup – 26 January 2024

In the news this week, the ongoing Rwanda asylum policy continues to raise complex legal issues. The president of the European Court of Human Rights recently reiterated that the UK has a clear obligation to comply with interim measures ordered by the Strasbourg court. However, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has not ruled out the possibility of ignoring such orders to enable deportation flights to proceed. The policy aims to deter Channel crossings but has drawn criticism on safety grounds, including from a Rwandan opposition figure who survived an assassination attempt.

Whilst the Government maintains that Rwanda is a safe country for removals, a Rwandan opposition politician who narrowly survived an assassination attempt has condemned the UK’s plan to deport asylum seekers to Kigali. Frank Ntwali, chair of the exiled Rwanda National Congress (RNC) movement, said the country was unsafe and that Rishi Sunak’s persistence with the policy was “quite bizarre”. His criticisms come after the Prime Minister urged the House of Lords to pass the Rwanda deportation bill so that flights can take off for the central African state. The policy is seen as crucial to a Conservative fightback as the party trails in the polls to Labour.

Maladministration of asylum claims continue to be a concern, and even more so for vulnerable children. A new report reveals that over an 18-month period, at least 1,300 children were incorrectly assessed as adults after cursory interviews by Home Office officials. As a result, some children faced inappropriate accommodation and even detention with adults. The report highlights the severe impact of incorrect age assessments on vulnerable young refugees.

In a positive development, the Home Office has been forced to reverse a controversial policy that removed some protections for confirmed victims of modern slavery. Campaigners argued the policy violated anti-trafficking safeguards, and a high court hearing concurred. The U-turn reinstates vital protections for vulnerable trafficking victims.

Meanwhile, increased UK immigration fees that came into effect in October 2022, along with a substantial rise in the Immigration Health Surcharge planned for 2024, have raised concerns among employers about higher costs and hiring difficulties. The changes form part of the government’s ongoing efforts to reform the immigration system, but risk negatively impacting businesses relying on foreign workers.

The planned increase to Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) will make family visa applications even more costly. On top of the minimum income threshold rising for spouses seeking to join their partners in the UK, the IHS hike adds a significant additional burden. With the IHS fee jumping 66%, families already struggling to meet the financial requirements will be hard hit.  The IHS increase risks pricing out low- and middle-income families, preventing them from reuniting with partners and children in the UK. While healthcare funding challenges exist, the IHS disproportionately impacts families and undermines efforts to create a fair and equitable immigration system.

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Overall, complex legal issues continue to surround UK immigration policies. Recent news highlights tensions between border control objectives and human rights protections, especially for vulnerable groups like refugee children and trafficking victims. Employer concerns also loom over fee increases aimed at reducing migration numbers. Achieving an effective and rights-compliant approach remains a complex challenge.

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For the full list of updates on media news, reported case law and Home Office Policy and other document updates, read below.

 IMMIGRATION NEWS

Rwanda flights: Britain reminded of obligation to obey ECHR orders – The Guardian

The UK would break international law if it ignored emergency orders from the European court of human rights (ECHR) to stop asylum seekers being flown to Rwanda, the head of the court has said.

Síofra O’Leary, the ECHR president, told a press conference that there was a “clear obligation” for member states to take account of rule 39 orders, interim injunctions issued by the Strasbourg-based court.

While the Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, has not definitively said that he would ignore any such orders, he has held open the prospect, saying he has been “crystal clear repeatedly, that I won’t let a foreign court stop us from getting flights off”.

For full report, click here.

Home Office U-turns on policy to restrict help for trafficking victims – The Guardian

The Home Office has performed a U-turn on a policy to deprive some modern slavery victims of protection from traffickers.

Human rights campaigners and lawyers representing trafficking victims have welcomed the government’s change of heart, which they say reinstates vital protections to vulnerable people.

A high court hearing, which began last year and has concluded, warned that trafficking victims were at risk of rights violations such as slavery, servitude and forced labour, if the policy introduced by the former home secretary Suella Braverman on 31 January continued.

For full report, click here

More than 1,000 child refugees at risk after being classified as adults – The Guardian

Hundreds of child refugees have encountered abuse and exploitation, and some have been placed in adult jails, after their ages were wrongly assessed by the Home Office, according to a new report.

At least 1,300 children were incorrectly deemed to be adults by the Home Office over an 18-month period, the report by the Refugee Council, the Helen Bamber Foundation and Humans for Rights Network found.

As a result of these flawed age assessments – which can take as little as 10 minutes – by Home Office officials shortly after they arrived in the UK, some children have been sent to hotels for adult asylum seekers, while others have been placed in immigration removal centres or adult prisons.

For full report, click here

Exiled Rwandan who survived murder attempt condemns UK deportation plan – The Guardian

A Rwandan opposition politician who narrowly survived an assassination attempt has condemned the UK’s plan to deport asylum seekers to Kigali.

Frank Ntwali, chair of the exiled Rwanda National Congress (RNC) movement, said the country was unsafe and that Rishi Sunak’s persistence with the policy was “quite bizarre”.

His criticisms come after the Prime Minister urged the House of Lords to pass the Rwanda deportation bill so that flights can take off for the central African state. The policy is seen as crucial to a Conservative fightback as the party trails in the polls to Labour.

For full report, click here.

Border Force mental health absences rose 45% as Channel deaths increased – The Guardian

The Home Office spent a six-figure sum on mental health support for frontline Border Force officers after mental health-related absences for staff across the agency increased by 45% as deaths in the Channel rose, a freedom of information request has revealed.

Border Force staff were off on average for more than two days a year for reasons related to mental health between the springs of 2021 and 2023, the figures show, up from 1.4 days between spring 2020 and 2021.

For full report, click here.

How many people cross the Channel in small boats and how many claim asylum in the UK? – BBC News

As of 21 January, 621 people had crossed the English Channel in small boats in 2024.

In 2023, 29,437 people came to the UK this way.

That was a big drop from the 2022 total of 45,755, which was the highest number since figures began to be collected in 2018.

For full report, click here

Three arrested in fake immigration law firm raid – UKVI

Three suspected fraudulent immigration lawyers have been arrested in Greater Manchester following a Home Office raid on Wednesday 24 January.

The suspects are believed to be part of a legal advice firm run by Chinese and British nationals out of a garage attached to a residential property, which had been converted into an office.

The company owners, a married couple, are alleged to have been supplying fake documents to enable foreign nationals to falsify asylum claims and remain in the UK. It is believed they have been charging more than £3,000 per client.

For full report, click here.

Higher UK Immigration Fees Could Raise Employer Costs, Challenges – SHRM Network

Marked increases in U.K. immigration fees that went into effect in October 2023, along with a major boost in 2024 to the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS), could mean higher costs and more hiring difficulties for employers in the country.

Among other changes in immigration fees, the government raised most work and visit visas by 15 percent effective Oct. 4, 2023. While employers won’t pay more in sponsor fees, the U.K. increased certificates to sponsor new workers by 20 percent.

For full report, click here.

 CASE LAW

XY v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2024] EWHC 81 (Admin)

The Home Secretary was found to be operating an unlawful secret policy that prevented victims of trafficking from being granted leave while their asylum claims were pending. This came to light in the case of an Albanian national who was trafficked and forced to sell drugs in Albania before escaping to the UK and claiming asylum in 2018.

In 2021, the Home Office accepted he had been trafficked but then failed to grant him the discretionary leave he was entitled to. This mirrored the Home Secretary’s actions in the 2021 KTT case, where the High Court ruled her approach was unlawful. Despite this, the Home Office continued to use the same secret policy to avoid granting leave to the Albanian claimant.

The Supreme Court has now ended the Home Secretary’s attempt to overturn the original KTT judgment, cementing the unlawfulness of her approach.

For full decision, click here

 HOME OFFICE GUIDANCE & POLICY DOCUMENT UPDATES

  • Transparency data: Migrants detected crossing the English Channel in small boats has been updated on 25 January 2024. To view the updated data, click here.
  • Guidance: Immigration Rules archive: 28 December 23 to 15 January 2024 has been published on 25th January 2023. To view the updated Guidance, click here.

  • Guidance: Right to rent immigration checks – landlords’ code of practice has been updated on 23rd January 2024. To view the updated Guidance, click here.

  • Guidance: Illegal working penalties: codes of practice for employers has been updated on 23rd January 2024. To view the updated Guidance, click here.

  • Asylum accommodation: Wethersfield has been updated on 22nd January 2024. To view the updated information, click here.

  • Transparency data: Country returns guide has been updated on 19th January 2024. To view the updated information, click here.

  • Policy paper: Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill has been updated on 18th January 2024. To view the updated information, click here.

  • Caseworker Guidance: Suitability – deportation and exclusion has been updated on 18th January 2024. To view the updated information, click here.

  • Impact assessments covering migration policy has been updated on 18th January 2024. To view the updated information, click here.

STAY TUNED FOR MORE IMMIGRATION NEWS NEXT WEEK!

 

 

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