Immigration News Weekly Roundup – 26 April 2024
In a development that has sparked widespread controversy, the long-debated Rwanda Bill has now been enacted into law. Despite facing intense criticism from various quarters, the plans to facilitate the deportation of certain asylum seekers to Rwanda have been given the green light after the House of Lords withdrew its opposition on Monday.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, in an official statement, declared that “nothing will stand in our way” of commencing these deportation flights.
James Cleverly, in his first interview since the government’s plan received parliamentary approval, revealed that he has booked a series of initial flights and is preparing to order the detention of individuals seeking refuge in the UK for potential transfer to East Africa.
In the wake of the “Safety of Rwanda” Bill’s passage, two senior United Nations officials, have once again raised concerns about the potential detrimental impact it may have on global responsibility-sharing, human rights, and refugee protection. They have urged the UK government to reconsider its plan and instead adopt practical measures to address irregular flows of refugees and migrants based on international cooperation and respect for international human rights law.
In a separate legal matter, the High Court has been informed that a decision made by the former Home Secretary Suella Braverman to rescind three recommendations intended to address the “monumental harm” done to the Windrush generation was unlawful. The court heard that the Home Office had committed to a comprehensive improvement program in response to the Windrush scandal, which had a severely discriminatory impact on a cohort of individuals who had lived in the UK since childhood, many of whom faced consequences such as arrest, detention, removal from the UK, job loss, homelessness, and denial of NHS treatment.
Controversy has also risen over harsh comments made by a Deputy Leader of the Reform UK party, who suggested withholding rescue efforts for individuals in distress in the English Channel if they attempt to scupper their small boats and refuse new dinghies, stating that they should “suffer the consequences of their actions.”
Additionally, three individuals have been arrested in connection with the deaths of five migrants in the English Channel on Tuesday, according to the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA). The arrests were made on suspicion of facilitating illegal immigration and entering the UK illegally.
Humanitarian organizations have called for the establishment yet again, of new safe routes to Britain after the tragic incident in which a child and four adults drowned while attempting to cross the Channel within hours of the controversial Rwanda Bill being passed by parliament.
In a significant legal development, the UK Supreme Court’s decision in R (on the application of AM (Belarus)) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2024] UKSC 13 further reinforced the stance that foreign criminals will face rigorous scrutiny. The court held that while AM’s right under Article 8(1) of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) is engaged due to the extended period of limbo status without a grant of leave to remain, even though this situation was brought about by his actions, the allocation of limbo status to AM was in accordance with the law under Article 8(2) and was a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim.
The court ruled that little weight should be given to AM’s private life, as it was established at a time when he was in the UK unlawfully and his immigration status was precarious. On the other hand, the deportation of foreign criminals is in the public interest, especially in cases of serious offending. It is this public interest that AM has succeeded in undermining through his deliberate and fraudulent actions. Considering the state’s margin of appreciation in this context, the Home Secretary was entitled to decide that AM should not be granted leave to remain, as this decision struck a fair balance between AM’s rights and interests and the general interest of the community in maintaining effective immigration controls and allocating state benefits and resources to citizens and lawful immigrants.
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Full list of updates on media news, reports and Home Office Policy and other document see below.
IMMIGRATION NEWS
Rwanda flights will deport asylum seekers ‘indefinitely’, says Cleverly – The Guardian
Several flights a month will deport asylum seekers to Rwanda “indefinitely”, the home secretary has said, as he argued that the £1.8m a person cost of the scheme was justified.
James Cleverly, in his first interview since the government’s plan was approved by parliament on Monday, said he had booked a succession of initial flights and was preparing to order the detention of people seeking refuge in the UK, so they could be sent to east Africa.
For full report, click here
UK-Rwanda asylum law: UN leaders warn of harmful consequences – UNCHR
Following the passage of the “Safety of Rwanda” Bill by the UK Parliament, two UN leaders have again sounded the alarm on the harmful impact it will have on global responsibility-sharing, human rights and refugee protection.
Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, and Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, are calling on the UK government to reconsider its plan to transfer asylum-seekers to Rwanda and instead to take practical measures to address irregular flows of refugees and migrants, based on international cooperation and respect for international human rights law.
For full report, click here.
Don’t rescue people who scupper their Channel boats, says Reform UK deputy – The Guardian
A Deputy Leader of Reform UK has proposed not rescuing people in the Channel if they scupper their small boats and refuse new dinghies as they should “suffer the consequences of their actions”.
Ben Habib made the comments in an interview on TalkTV when asked how he proposed to prevent people setting off from France in small boats from reaching the UK.
For full report, click here
Humanitarian groups demand safe routes to UK after five deaths in Channel – The Guardian
Humanitarian groups have called for new safe routes to Britain after five people died trying to cross the Channel within hours of ministers passing the controversial Rwanda bill.
A child and four adults drowned on Tuesday while trying to reach the UK in a boat from Wimereux, in France. More than 110 people were said to have been on board the vessel when it left the French coastline at 5am.
For full report, click here
Braverman dropping Windrush measures was unlawful, court told – The Guardian
A decision made by the former home secretary Suella Braverman to drop three recommendations intended to repair some of the “monumental harm” done to the Windrush generation was unlawful, the high court has been told.
The Home Office committed itself to a comprehensive improvement programme in response to the Windrush scandal, which had a severely discriminatory impact on a cohort of people who had lived in the UK since childhood, many of whom were arrested, detained, removed from the UK, or sacked from their jobs, made homeless and denied NHS treatment, the court heard.
For full report, click here
Refugee who left UK for holiday in 2008 stranded in east Africa for 16 years – The Guardian
A refugee who left the UK on holiday as a teenager in 2008 has been stranded in east Africa for the last 16 years in a case that senior judges have described as “extraordinary”.
Saleh Ahmed Handule Ali, now 33, arrived in the UK at the age of nine in April 2000 with his mother and two younger siblings from Somalia. They came to join Ali’s father, who had been granted refugee status by the UK government. The family were also recognized as refugees by the Home Office and Ali was given a travel document in 2004 under the refugee convention, which was valid for 10 years.
For full report, click here
Afghanistan interpreter told his British citizenship bars family from UK visa – The Guardian
A former interpreter for British forces in Afghanistan has had his application to bring his wife and three children to the UK rejected – because he has British Citizenship.
When US and Nato forces withdrew from Afghanistan in August, Muhammad received a message marked “urgent” from the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) telling him and his family to go to the Baron hotel in Kabul for “processing prior to evacuation”.
For full report, click here
UK small boats policymakers referred to ‘bloody migrants’, says civil servant – The Guardian
A senior civil servant has said Cabinet Office officials making policy on small boats referred to “bloody migrants” and were expected to “leave their humanity at the door”.
Rowaa Ahmar withdrew a tribunal claim alleging “unrelenting and systemic” racism in the department on Wednesday but said she stands by the substance of it.
For full report, click here
Three arrested over Channel migrant deaths – BBC News
Three men have been arrested in connection with the deaths of five migrants in the English Channel on Tuesday, the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) has said. The men were detained on suspicion of facilitating illegal immigration and entering the UK illegally.
For full report, click here
New family immigration visa rules ‘penalise couples’ – BBC News
There are fears that more people will be separated by the introduction of a minimum salary level for those wanting UK family visas.
Families living in the UK and abroad have raised concerns about what new rules will mean for them as they try to reunite with foreign spouses.
For full report, click here
Bibby Stockholm staff ‘laughed and joked’ over asylum seeker death – BBC News
Staff on the government’s migrant barge “laughed and joked” over the death of an asylum seeker on board, a former cleaner on the vessel has claimed.
Albanian migrant Leonard Farruku, 27, is thought to have taken his own life on the Bibby Stockholm in December.
For full report, click here
How many people cross the Channel in small boats and how many claim asylum in the UK? – BBC News
The UK government says sending some asylum seekers to Rwanda will deter people from crossing the English Channel in small boats.
The Rwanda bill, a key priority for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, has been approved by the UK parliament after months of legal and political wrangling.
For full report, click here
INDEPENDENT REPORTS
The Legal and Policy Infrastructure of Irregularity – Country report, ICLAIM, by Stefano Piemontese and Nando Sigona, April 2024
A recent report by the I-CLAIM (Improving the Living and Labour Conditions of Irregularised Migrant Households in Europe) project, a pan-European initiative investigating the circumstances of migrant families with precarious legal status, examines the UK government’s policies and legislation around irregular migration. The study explores the intersection of immigration, labor, and welfare regimes, analyzing how their interplay contributes to the irregularization of migrants and determines their living and working conditions within the country. By delving into this complex issue, the report sheds light on the dynamics impacting migrants with uncertain legal statuses in the UK.
To download full report, click here
CASE LAW
R (on the application of AM (Belarus)) (Respondent) v Secretary of State for the Home Department (Appellant) [2024] UKSC 13
The central issue in this case revolves around the circumstances under which denying an individual leave to remain in the UK, despite their inability to be deported to their country of nationality, would violate their right to respect for private and family life as outlined in Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The case involves AM, a Belarusian national who arrived in the UK in 1998 seeking asylum. After a protracted legal battle spanning over two decades, with his asylum claim being denied and unsuccessful attempts by UK authorities to obtain necessary travel documents from Belarus, AM found himself in a legal limbo, unable to be removed from the UK or granted leave to remain.
The crux of the matter lies in the Upper Tribunal’s ruling that continuing to refuse AM leave to remain would constitute a violation of his Article 8 rights, given the remote likelihood of his removal to Belarus. However, the Tribunal also determined that AM’s failure to provide accurate information about his identity led to Belarus’s refusal to admit him, thus rendering him not stateless. The Secretary of State appealed the Upper Tribunal’s finding regarding Article 8 to the Court of Appeal, which dismissed the appeal, prompting a further appeal to the UK Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court unanimously allowed the appeal.
To watch the decision recording of UKSC, click here – to read the full decision, click here
ASY & Ors v Home Office [2024] EWCA Civ 373
In a groundbreaking judgment with far-reaching implications for damages claims involving breaches of fundamental human rights, the Court of Appeal in ASY & Others v Home Office [2024] EWCA Civ 373 has ruled that there exists a right to claim damages for imminent violations of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which prohibits torture and inhuman or degrading treatment. This decision overturns the High Court’s judgment in Home Office v ASY & Others [2023] EWHC 196 (KB) and significantly broadens the test for determining whether Article 3 rights have been breached by an administrative system that fails to prevent extreme destitution.
The unanimous judgment delivered by Fraser LJ found fault with the High Court’s conclusion that the claimants’ only right under Article 3 ECHR was to have their applications to lift the No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) condition determined correctly within a reasonable time. The Court of Appeal held that where an individual faces the imminent (i.e., immediate) prospect of being subjected to inhuman or degrading treatment, the duty on the defendant must be proportionate and account for the urgency of the situation. Processing times of 2 to 4 months were deemed unacceptable in the context of an immediate risk of extreme destitution. The Court categorized this duty as falling within the “low-level systems” obligation implied under Article 3, which requires states to establish a regulatory and administrative framework to avoid the risk of treatment contrary to Article 3 in various situations.
For full decision, click here.
HOME OFFICE GUIDANCE AND DOCUMENTS POLICY UPDATES
Guidance: Zimbabwe: tuberculosis test clinics for a UK visa has been updated on 24 April 2024. To view updated Guidance, click here
Caseworker Guidance: Section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016 leave has been updated on 23 April 2024. To view updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: China: tuberculosis test clinics for a UK visa guidance has been updated on 23 April 2024. To view updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Register of licensed sponsors: workers has been updated on 23 April 2024. To view updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Register of licensed sponsors: students has been updated on 23 April 2024. To view updated Guidance, click here
Windrush Scheme application form (UK) has been updated on 23 April 2024. To view updated Form, click here
Windrush Compensation Scheme: claim forms and guidance has been updated on 23 April 2024. To view updated Form, click here
Caseworker Guidance: Windrush Compensation Scheme has been updated on 23 April 2024. To view updated Guidance, click here
Caseworker Guidance: PBS sponsor licensing – certificates: caseworker guidance has been updated on 22 April 2024 To view updated Guidance, click here
Caseworker Guidance: Asylum screening and routing has been updated on 22 April 2024. To view updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Prove your English language abilities with a secure English language test (SELT) has been updated on 22 April 2024. To view updated Guidance, click here
Collection: Other cross-cutting guidance (immigration staff guidance) has been updated on 19 April 2024. To view updated collection, click here
Caseworker Guidance: Immigration Health Surcharge: has been updated on 19 April 2024. To view updated Guidance, click here
STAY TUNED FOR MORE IMMIGRATION NEWS NEXT WEEK!
