Immigration News Weekly Roundup – 3 November 2023
Controversy continues to swirl around the UK government’s efforts to house asylum seekers, while charities and legal groups challenge policies and delays as being unlawful.
Local councils are turning to the courts, to fight the Home Office’s plans to use former RAF bases to accommodate asylum seekers. West Lindsey District Council argues using the historic RAF Scampton site is unlawful. Braintree District Council and a resident are making similar objections regarding the former RAF Wethersfield.
Meanwhile, over 1,000 Afghan refugees face potential homelessness after the Home Office imposed a December 15th deadline to remove them from hotels. Separately, data shows over 5,200 Ukrainian families now need homelessness support, with thousands losing housing after relationships with their UK hosts deteriorated.
Despite this, the Immigration Minister recently confirmed 50 hotels would stop housing asylum seekers by January, citing a drop in Channel crossings versus last year. However, disturbing reports reveal child asylum seekers are being forced to share rooms with adults under new Home Office “maximization” policies.
The House of Commons criticized the progress of a Home Office program launched in 2021 to improve the asylum system. An independent think tank also proposed alternative solutions, arguing the government’s Rwanda scheme is impractical, costly and inhumane.
In a landmark decision issued this week for the case SB & Anor, R (On the Application Of) v London Borough Of Newham [2023] EWHC 2701 it is ruled that a local authority unlawfully ended accommodation support for asylum seekers under its care duties. The Home Secretary participated in the case, assisting the court on the interplay between the Care Act 2014 and asylum seeker housing laws.
Finally, the charity Asylum Aid won the right to pursue a Judicial Review challenging extensive asylum decision delays, which it argues are unlawful. A successful challenge could force reforms and shorter wait times for claimants.
As the asylum crisis continues, both government policies and the welfare of refugees remain under intense scrutiny.
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This week has also witnessed several Guidance and Policy Document updates made by the Home Office on various spectrums.
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This and more are covered in our Immigration News Weekly Roundup. The full list of updates on media news, reported case law and Home Office Policy and other document updates SEE BELOW
IMMIGRATION NEWS – MEDIA
Think tank sets out alternative proposal to ‘impractical’ Rwanda scheme –Independent
A think tank has set out an alternative proposal to the Government’s “impractical” and “costly” Rwanda scheme, addressing the small boat crisis and the broader challenges faced by the UK asylum system.
The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) believes that a more “humane” response can be adopted to handle the rise in asylum seekers making the journey across the Channel. The independent, progressive public-policy think tank recommends establishing safer and more accessible routes for those seeking refuge in the UK.
For full report, click here
Effort to clear asylum backlog could shift pressure to elsewhere in system – MPs – Independent
A “huge challenge” remains for the Home Office to clear the backlog in the asylum system and efforts to do so risk creating new backlogs in the courts, according to a damning report from MPs.
It also said adequate safeguards are not in place to protect against the risks to vulnerable people.
For full report, click here
Shamima Begum faces wait for appeal decision in citizenship case – Independent
Shamima Begum will face a wait to find out whether she has won a Court of Appeal bid over the removal of her British citizenship.
Ms. Begum’s lawyers brought a bid to overturn this decision at the Court of Appeal, with the Home Office opposing the challenge. At the start of the hearing on Tuesday, Samantha Knights KC told the court the government had failed to consider the legal duties owed to Ms Begum as a potential victim of trafficking or as a result of “state failures” in her case.
She said in written submissions: “The appellant’s trafficking was a mandatory, relevant consideration in determining whether it was conducive to the public good and proportionate to deprive her of citizenship, but it was not considered by the Home Office.
For full report, click here
Report flags dubious immigration agents running illicit UK visa appointments trade in India, other South Asian countries – The Economic Times
Dubious agents in South Asia have come under scrutiny for their involvement in an illicit visa appointments trade, exploiting unsuspecting students and workers in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal by charging them exorbitant fees for a service that should be free. A recent investigation by the UK’s ‘The Observer’ newspaper has shed light on this concerning issue.
These unscrupulous brokers are operating in several parts of South Asia, promoting biometric appointments on social media messaging services and demanding fees that can soar up to GBP 800. Pakistan appears to be the epicentre of this problem, with a significant increase in the abuse of the visa appointment system over the past year.
For full report, click here
Councils ask judge to stop plan to house asylum seekers on former RAF bases – The Guardian
Council bosses have called on the high court to quash government plans to use the land of two former RAF bases to house asylum seekers.
Lawyers representing West Lindsey district council in Lincolnshire argue that plans to use the disused RAF Scampton, where the “dam busters” were based during the Second World War, are unlawful.
Braintree district council in Essex is making a similar claim in relation to plans for land where RAF Wethersfield was situated, along with a local resident. Mrs Justice Thornton is overseeing a hearing, due to last two days, at the high court in London. The Home Office is fighting the claims.
For full report, click here
Afghans who fled Taliban to UK ‘set to be made homeless at Christmas’ – The Guardian
More than 1,000 Afghans in the UK face being made homeless days before Christmas after the Home Office imposed a fresh deadline to eject them from hotels. The Local Government Association (LGA) revealed the number of at-risk Afghans, which includes families, after the Home Office last week imposed the new deadline of 15 December.
Meanwhile, separate new data reveals that more than 5,200 Ukrainian families are now receiving “homelessness support”, with 4,350 defined as homeless after relationships with UK families they were staying with “broke down.”
For full report, click here
Child asylum seekers in UK forced to share hotel rooms with adults – The Guardian
Child asylum seekers are being forced to share hotel rooms with adults, as the Home Office’s new hotel “maximisation” programme begins doubling the capacity of refugee hotels by putting two strangers in room spaces that were previously single occupancy, a charity has warned.
The Refugee Council has warned that frequent misclassification of child refugees as adults at the UK border is exposing them to serious safeguarding risks, with the dangers heightened by the government’s new drive to reduce the cost of hotels by introducing a room-sharing policy.
For full report, click here
Home Office to exit first 50 asylum hotels by the end of January – UKVI
The first 50 hotels across the UK will stop housing asylum seekers by the end of January, as a result of a more than 20% drop in small boat crossings compared to last year, the Immigration Minister confirmed.
The Home Office has already notified local authorities, MPs and the accommodation providers, informing them that the first 50 hotels temporarily accommodating asylum seekers, will be exited as part of the move to return hotels to their proper use by communities.
For full report, click here
Asylum Aid granted Permission for Judicial Review to challenge delays in asylum decisions – Asylum Aid
The charity Asylum Aid has been granted permission to pursue a Judicial Review challenging extensive delays in the UK asylum decision-making process. Asylum Aid argues that the long wait times for asylum claim decisions, along with the failure to provide applicants with reliable timeframes, are unlawful and violate human rights law.
The legal challenge aims to prompt substantial reforms to the asylum system that could benefit thousands of applicants. Asylum Aid notes that a successful challenge could set a precedent requiring a more timely asylum claim processing.
For full post published on social media by Asylum Aid regarding this, click here
Bihar man tries to migrate to the UK with fake documents – Times of India
Immigration officials found that Bhagat, who wanted to migrate to the UK, befriended an agent, Ravindra Kumar on Facebook who said he could help him migrate to the UK for INR 10,00,000.
He was arrested after the officials verified his documents with the Director General of Shipping and found that the shipping firm mentioned on the letter does not exist.
For full report, click here
CASE LAW
SB & Anor, R (On the Application Of) v London Borough Of Newham [2023] EWHC 2701
On October 30, 2023, Deputy High Court Judge Dan Kolinsky KC issued a judgment in the case of R (SB & Anor) v London Borough of Newham [2023] EWHC 2701 (Admin). This judicial review claim concerned the interaction between a local authority’s duties to provide care accommodation under the Care Act 2014 and the Home Secretary’s duties to accommodate asylum seekers under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999.
The Claimants challenged the local authority’s decision to end accommodation support. Judge Kolinsky allowed the claim, finding the termination was unlawful. His judgment analysed relevant case law on the interplay between the two Acts. The Home Secretary, represented by Sian Reeves, participated as an interested party, assisting the Court on the statutory duties.
To download the full decision, click here
INDEPENDENT REPORTS
The Asylum Transformation Programme – House of Commons Public Accounts Committee
The House of Commons Public Accounts Committee published a report regarding the Home Office’s ongoing effort to transform the UK asylum system. The multi-year program, launched in 2021, aims to improve the experience for asylum seekers, Home Office employees, and partners; build public trust; and create a more flexible, sustainable, and efficient asylum process. The Committee’s report assessed the program’s progress and challenges to date.
To download the full report, click here
HOME OFFICE GUIDANCE & POLICY DOCUMENT UPDATES
- Guidance: Register of licensed sponsors – workers has been updated on 1st November 2023. To view the updated Guidance, click here
- Guidance: Register of licensed sponsors – students has been updated on 1st November 2023. To view the updated Guidance, click here
- Guidance: UK resettlement programmes – funding instruction 2023 to 2024 has been published on 1st November 2023. To view the updated Guidance, click here
- Guidance: Iraq Country Policy and Information Notes has been updated on 1st November 2023. To view the updated Guidance, click here
- Guidance: High Potential Individual visa – global universities list has been updated on 1st November 2023. To view the updated Guidance, click here
- Guidance Occupied Palestinian Territories: country policy and information notes have been updated on 31st October 2023. To view the updated Guidance, click here
- Caseworker Guidance: Powers and operational procedure has been updated on 31st October 2023. To view the updated Guidance, click here
- Guidance: English language abilities with a secure English language test (SELT) has been updated on 30th October 2023. To view the updated Guidance, click here
- Guidance: Online immigration status (eVisa) has been published on 30th October 2023. To view the updated Guidance, click here
- Guidance Turkey: Country Policy and Information Notes has been updated on 26th October 2023. To view the updated Guidance, click here
- Caseworker Guidance: Biometric information has been updated on 26th October 2023. To view the updated Guidance, click here
- Caseworker Guidance: Search of person has been updated on 26th October 2023. To view the updated Guidance, click here
- Caseworker Guidance: Restricted leave has been updated on 26th October 2023. To view the updated Guidance, click here
- Guidance: Electronic travel authorisation (ETA)- Residents of Ireland has been published on 25th October 2023. To view the updated Guidance, click here
STAY TUNED FOR MORE IMMIGRATION NEW NEXT WEEK
