The annual appeal for festive season gifts for asylum seeker children is more urgent than ever. This year the campaigning against the evictions and absolute destitution of refused refugees continues and we have seen off the ‘Go home’ vans and posters, but there are still some 2000 refugees in Glasgow waiting resolution of their cases living in legally enforced penury. One small way we can help allay their distress and affirm our sympathy and support is by giving a festive season gift to an asylum seeker child. Gifts will be distributed to seasonal parties organised by local community bodies supporting asylum seekers. Please leave presents unwrapped though donations of wrapping paper, gift tags etc. are welcome. Details from glascamref@gmail.com  Margaret 07870 286 632 or Jock 07896 877 315   

Detention Q3: At the 30th September, 4,094 people were detained under immigration laws, 3,115 in Immigration Removal Centres and 979 persons detained in prisons. In the third quarter of 2013, 65 children entered detention. Of the 63 children leaving detention in the third quarter of 2013, 28 were removed from the UK and the remaining 35 were granted temporary admission or release.   Read More...

Six actual or potential conflict situations around the world deteriorated and two improved in November 2013, according to CrisisWatch N°121. Deteriorated Situations: Bangladesh, Central African Republic, China/Japan, Lebanon, Thailand, Yemen   Read More...

Contact Virgin Atlantic
STOP PRESS 28 November: Lawyers were engaged in a frantic behind-the-scenes battle to save a Nigerian asylum seeker today, after a last-minute reprieve won him another two days in the UK. Isa Muazu has not eaten in 90 days and now weighs just 50 kilograms. He is no longer able to see or stand. He was due to be deported yesterday evening on a Virgin Atlantic flight to Nigeria but the removal was delayed until Friday. A man who is "close to death" after being on hunger strike in immigration detention for three months could be sent back to Nigeria on Wednesday after his case failed in the Court of Appeal. Isa Muazu says he is willing to die rather than return home. His case that he was being held unlawfully was rejected in the Court of Appeal today after a High Court bid for his release from Harmondsworth immigration removal centre failed last week. . (The Independent Tuesday 26 November 2013)   Read More...

STOP PRESS Isa is back in the UK! The plane carrying him was prevented from entering Nigerian airspace and had to return to the UK. He's back in Harmondsworth. 

Teresa May under fire                                            

Lawyers for a failed asylum seeker who was on hunger strike have said the Home Office has confirmed his removal from the UK

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Sunday 24 November, 1 pm. Meet outside the gates

  

Read about the Immigration Bill's second reading in Parliament, MPs' response (or lack of) and how you can have your say before 19 November. On 22 October, the new Immigration Bill had its second reading in the House of Commons.  At this stage of a new bill, MPs are given the opportunity to debate the general principles and, afterwards to oppose it if they wish.  Of great concern was the Labour Party’s stance on the Bill:  most Labour MPs abstained from voting on the Bill, which passed by a massive 303 votes to 18.   Just six Labour MPs voted against the bill. (NCADC blog)   Read More...

3 actual or potential conflict situations around the world deteriorated and none improved in October 2013, according to the new issue of Crisis Watch. Deteriorated Situations:  Bangladesh, Kashmir, Mozambique   Read More...

Asylum seekers with strong cases are being pushed to the back of the Home Office queue so that officials can reject at least 60% of applications, according to lawyers. Those with clients at the appeal stage say that it has become common Home Office practice to withdraw powerful cases at the last minute to protect the 60% target, described internally as the "win rate". They say the alleged tactic is adding to a backlog of half a million unresolved cases and causing suffering to those who have a right to be here but who are stranded in limbo, sometimes for years. (The Observer, 26 October 13)

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Described variously as “ugly, divisive politics” (Sarah Teather MP), a “valuable tool for racist landlords” (Maurice Mcleod), “meandering popularism” (John Harris) and “immigration policy that has lost even any semblance of correlation with reality” (Dave Stamp of ASIRT), there’s a lot to digest (or spit out, disgusted) in the new Immigration Bill. NCADC’s legal volunteer analyses the major policy changes, and the responses they have provoked.

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Advertising watchdog rules that campaign was unlikely to cause widespread offence but used misleading arrest statistics
A government advertising campaign that used billboards on vans to tell illegal immigrants to "go home" has been banned by the Advertising Standards Authority for using misleading statistics. The campaign, which saw the vans drive around six London boroughs in July this year, drew 224 complaints to the ASA, including some from groups representing migrants in the UK. 'Go home' vans banned because the figures used were misleading, not because they were offensive. But at least they're banned . . . '  Scottish Detainee Visitors.
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A system of identity checks for all, including British citizens, would have to be introduced to enforce the government's moves to curb access for illegal migrants to privately rented housing and to tackle alleged health tourists, leading immigration lawyers have told the home Secretary. Lawyers say plans for checks before access to housing and health would be 'intrusive, bullying, ineffective and expensive' Read full article the Guardian 10 Oct   Explanatory notes  to the Immigration Bill. These explanatory notes relate to the Immigration Bill as introduced in the House of Commons on 10th October 2013. They have been prepared by the Home Office in order to assist the reader of the Bill and to help inform debate on it.    Read More...

In a society where inequalities are increasing the struggle over scarce resources, the arrival of new groups of poor economic migrants or destitute refugees can put increased pressure on the poorest communities. One way media coverage could respond to this might be to focus on the struggle faced by new arrivals and pressure policymakers to target appropriate resources to meet their needs and reduce tensions in local areas. But coverage can also exploit the potential tensions created by these movements for a boost in sales. This negative coverage often forces asylum seekers to join a long list of convenient scapegoats including the unemployed, those claiming benefits and those registered as disabled, and can be very damaging indeed. Emma Briant, New Statesman, 28/09/13   Read More...

Seventeen countries agreed to help Syrian refugees by providing a safe haven to some of the most vulnerable fleeing the violence. But the UK is not one of them. Only 0.1% of the 2 million people who have fled Syria have found safety in the UK. The vast majority - 97% - are surviving in harsh conditions in the neighbouring countries. With temperatures plummeting as winter approaches and more than half a million Syrian children living in temporary shelters and camps, we’re deeply concerned about how they and others will cope. Please send an urgent email to your MP now? (Refugee Council)

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Decisions concerning migrant children must always be based on their best interests
Migrant children are particularly vulnerable - especially if they are unaccompanied, travelling without parents or relatives. Many have been traumatised and abused before arriving in Europe. They must be met with care and with respect for their rights. Yet, there are many accounts of harsh treatment.   Read More...

Asylum seekers and refugees - men, women and even children - are increasingly detained and interned around the world, as are numbers of other migrants. Sometimes detained indefinitely and often in appalling conditions, they may suffer not only deprivation of their liberty but other abuses of their human rights too. Detention may appear to be a convenient solution to states' political quest to manage migration (often as a precursor to deportation) but it is an expensive option and has lasting effects on those detained. In the search for a more humane - and cheaper - approach, agencies and government authorities have trialled a variety of alternatives to detention. (Forced Migration Review)   Read More...

4 actual or potential conflict situations around the world deteriorated and none improved in September 2013, according to the new issue of Crisis Watch. Deteriorated Situations: Central African Republic, Kenya, Philippines, Sudan   Read More...

Lord Hylton to ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the effectiveness of detaining pregnant women, and (2) the views on that matter of the organisations which signed Asylum Aid's Charter of Rights of Women Seeking Asylum.[HL2191] The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord Taylor of Holbeach): Detention is a vital and effective tool in supporting the enforced return of persons with no lawful basis of stay in the UK who choose not to leave voluntarily. This applies equally to pregnant women.   Read More...

That this House deplores the recent Home Office poster campaign running in UK Border Agency offices in Glasgow and London advising people seeking advice to 'go home'; believes that this poster campaign is an insensitive and ineffective way of dealing with illegal immigration and is unlikely to encourage voluntary returns; notes that this is not the only instance of this type of campaign following the heavily criticised vans carrying similar messages; further notes that charities and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have expressed their concerns about the campaign; further believes that this scheme is likely to undermine its stated aims whilst creating an environment of fear; and urges the Government to halt immediately this pilot scheme and to work with local authorities, community groups and NGOs to encourage voluntary returns in a more effective, liberal, sympathetic and humane manner.

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Motion S4M-07552: James Dornan, Glasgow Cathcart, Scottish National Party, Date Lodged: 30/08/2013 Condemning the Home Office's Go Home Poster Pilot.   Motion S4M-07587: Jackie Baillie, Dumbarton, Scottish Labour, Date Lodged: 04/09/2013 Condemning the Home Office's Go Home Campaign.... read the motions in full     Read More...

The process of seeking asylum in Europe amounts to little more than playing the lottery, a group of refugee charities said on Friday. Twelve years after committing to unify asylum policies, the European Union (EU) remains far from achieving its goal and, as a result, the chances of being granted refugee status vary wildly from country to country, the European Council on Refugees and Exile (ECRE) said in a report. The report highlights big differences in the decisions, procedures and rules relating to asylum seekers in 14 different EU countries - from access to accommodation, legal aid and jobs to the use of detention. (Thomson Reuters Foundation,  06/09/13)    Read More...

10 actual or potential conflict situations around the world deteriorated and nine improved in August 2013, according to CrisisWatch N°121. Deteriorated Situations: Central African Republic, DR Congo, Egypt, Iraq, Kashmir, Lebanon, Libya, Rwanda, Syria, Yemen   Read More...

Positive Action in Housing has been made aware of a new poster campaign begun by the UK Borders Agency in Glasgow’s Brand Street.  Giant posters depict a destitute refugee in the UKBA Brand Street offices in Glasgow. It says “Is life here hard? Going home is simple”.  On every single chair in the large waiting room, there are large stickers saying “Ask about going home” to reinforce the hostile message to asylum seekers reporting daily or weekly there.  A similar London based poster campaign is being investigated by the Advertising Standards Authority. (Robina Qureshi PAIH)   Read More...

Children/Adults Entering/Leaving Detention Q2 - In the second quarter of 2013, 38 children entered detention. Removals and Voluntary Departures Q2 - In the year ending June 2013, there were 4,948 enforced removals who had sought asylum at some stage, down 9% from the previous 12-month period   Read More...

Richard Fuller MP has secured an adjournment debate on pregnant women in immigration detention for 5th September 2013.  Could you please ask an MP to participate.  You can download the Briefing for MPs together with text for a cover-letter. The Royal College of Midwives, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the Royal College of Psychiatrists Working Group on Mental Health of Asylum Seekers and Refugees, together with Medical Justice, are recommending the end of the immigration detention of pregnant women.

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Switzerland's local authorities have introduced draconian restrictions which ban asylum-seekers from frequenting public places such as school playgrounds, swimming pools and libraries in a move angrily denounced by human rights groups as intolerable and racist. In the town of Bremgarten west of Zurich, where a new centre for asylum-seekers opened last month, officials said refugees would not be allowed to "loiter" in school playgrounds and would be banned from visiting public swimming pools, playing fields and a church. A total of 32 "exclusion zones" have been drawn up. Mario Gattiker, the head of Switzerland's Federal Office of Immigration which endorsed the apartheid-style restrictions, justified the move to journalists saying: 'We need rules to ensure a peaceful and orderly coexistence of residents and asylum-seekers.' (Indpendent, 07/08/13)
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6 actual or potential conflict situations around the world deteriorated and none improved in July 2013, according to the new issue of Crisis Watch 120. Deteriorated Situations: Bangladesh, DR Congo, Egypt, Iraq, South Sudan, Tunisia   Read More...

Claims that vulnerable asylum seekers have been evicted from their homes after failures by contractors working for G4S, the world's biggest private security firm, are to be investigated by a parliamentary watchdog. At least three women are alleged to have been expelled from properties because of rent arrears that had arisen because G4S subcontractors had not paid landlords. A letter from Margaret Hodge, chair of the public accounts committee, seen by the Observer, admits that the Home Office "is aware of general concerns around the contracts in operation" and that a review into asylum accommodation by the NAO will form part of a wider look at the delivery of public services by private sector contractors, including G4S. (Mark Townsend, The Observer, 21 July 2013)
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8 actual or potential conflict situations around the world deteriorated and none improved in June 2012, according to the new issue of Crisis Watch.  Deteriorated Situations: Egypt, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Libya, Nagorno-Karabakh (Azerbaijan), Somalia, Syria   Read More...

After five years of negotiations, on June 12, the European Parliament has voted on the remaining legislative pieces of the 'asylum package', which encompasses the recast Asylum Procedures and Reception directives, and the Dublin and Eurodac Regulations, as well as the recast Qualification Directive already adopted in 2011.  Improvements introduced through the asylum package include among others, mandatory personal interviews for all asylum seekers; better representation for unaccompanied children; allowing asylum seekers in an accelerated procedure to request in court to stay in the territory while they appeal against a negative decision on their case; and further approximation of the content of rights granted to beneficiaries of subsidiary protection and refugees in areas such as access to employment and to health care. European Council of Refugees and Exiles   Read More...

Jimmy Mubenga, a 46 year old Angolan father, died onboard a British Airways plane at Heathrow airport. The inquest heard that Mubenga had been calling out for help as three G4S guards heavily restrained him for more than half an hour. Several passengers said they heard him shouting that he could not breathe and that he was crying out: "They're going to kill me." Full background including a comprehensive briefing on the death of Jimmy Mubenga from Inquest.   Read More...

Lord Roberts of Llandudno to ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have plans to introduce (1) a time limit on the separation of families within immigration detention, and (2) procedures for carrying out best interests assessments on children as recommended by the Bail for Immigrant Detainees' Fractured Childhoods report.[HL663].  Lord Taylor of Holbeach: Where a parent is detained under immigration powers pending removal and thereby separated from their family, the Home Office aims to ensure that detention is kept to a minimum and that removal takes place promptly. There are no plans to introduce a time limit on such separations. Neither are there are any plans to introduce best interest assessments as recommended in the Bail for Immigration Detainees' report. However, the Home Office already considers children's best interests at relevant stages whenever immigration functions are carried out. House of Lords/13 Jun 2013: Column WA261   Read More...

On the occasion of the World Refugee Day, Caritas Europa calls on the EU and its Member States to fully ensure access to family reunification for all refugees. To Caritas Europa, the right to family life is one of the pillars of human rights. Access to family reunification is an essential element in ensuring the protection and integration of refugees. To improve access to family reunification for refugees, Caritas Europa calls for better implementation of EU rules. The purpose of these rules is to assist families to enjoy family life in one country, but some EU Member States have repeatedly failed to apply accordingly.   Read More...

17 - 23 June
This  week-long festival – with over 100 arts & cultural events, including music, comedy, theatre, literature, community celebrations events in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee, Perth and as far afield as Mull and New Galloway - will celebrate the contributions refugees have made to Scotland and  the communities that have welcomed them. Download the programme and find out more   Read More...

Pope Francis has spoken about World Refugee Day , which falls Thursday June 20th, making an impassioned appeal for people and institutions around the world to come to the aid of the countless families forced to flee their homelands because of violence and persecution. (Vatican Radio)   Read More...

The Minister for Immigration (Mr Mark Harper): The Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 enables the Home Office to support asylum seekers while their application to remain in the UK is determined, and some failed asylum seekers who temporarily are unable to return home. Under these arrangements we provide the claimant and any family members with free fully furnished and equipped housing with no bills to pay, as well as modest rates of financial support to meet their essential day to day living needs.  I have carefully considered whether those rates of financial support are adequate for the purpose set by Parliament, which is to meet the essential living needs of those asylum seekers and their dependants who would otherwise be destitute. I have concluded that they are, and so I am announcing today that the rates will be frozen for the current year. House of Commons / 6 Jun 2013 : Column 119WS   Read More...

UN Committee against Torture report May 2013. Concluding observations on the fifth periodic report of the United Kingdom, adopted by the Committee at its fiftieth session (6-31 May 2013). UK practice highlighted; Amending the 2010 UKBA EIG allowing detention of people with mental illness unless it cannot be managed in detention; Conducting an immediate independent review of the application of Rule 35; Reviewing the screening process for administrative detention of asylum-seekers upon entry; Lowering the evidential threshold for torture survivors; Deportations to Sri Lanka; Restraint of children.   Read More...

Children In and Out of Detention: Q1 2013. In the first quarter of 2013, 37 children entered detention, a decrease of 16 on the first quarter of 2012, this fall coinciding with the closure of Tinsley House from 18 January to 20 March 2013 to new entrants due to an infectious illness. Adults In and Out of detention: Q1 2013. As of the end of March 2013, 2,853 people were in detention, 6% fewer than the number recorded at the end of March 2012.   Read More...

In Glasgow Sheriff Court  (17/05/13) the Sheriff ruled in favour of the YMCA in their eviction proceedings against one of the refused refugees. There were two grounds: 1 The YMCA's advocate argued that the consequence of eviction in this case was not destitution as the defendant still had recourse to Section 4 Hard Case Support. This appears technically to be true in this case but as all those who have experience of Section 4 applications knows it is a brutal and humiliating experience resulting in most cases in failure.    Read More...

There is no justification for the new immigration bill - and it's a move guaranteed to harm unpopular minorities. In the Queen's Speech the Government announced plans to limit the use of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The changes are likely to be popular, thanks to longstanding campaigns by some newspapers to restrict the rights of foreigners who have committed crimes here. But there are reasons why we should be very wary about this proposal, as it could greatly alter the balance of power between judges and the Executive.
(Adam Wagner, New Statesman, 08/05/13)   Read More...

7 actual or potential conflict situations around the world deteriorated and two improved in April 2013, according to CrisisWatch.  Deteriorated Situations: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Central African Republic, Iraq, Lebanon, Pakistan, Venezuela   Read More...

Children are being placed at risk of serious harm by the detention of parents on immigration grounds, a charity BID has claimed. Two hundred children were separated from their parents between 2009 and 2012 by the UK Border Agency. The charity's report found that these children suffered adverse effects including weight loss, nightmares, insomnia and "extreme isolation". Most of the children stayed with another family member or guardian, but 85 were taken into care when a single parent was detained. The report found that children endured emotional distress in both scenarios and some of those put into care were 'moved between unstable care arrangements, neglected, and placed at risk of serious harm'. The 111 parents involved were detained for an average of 270 days, but in 92 cases the parents were eventually released. In 15 cases, parents were deported or removed from the UK without their children (Neil Puffett, Children Young People Now, 19/04/13)   Read More...

37 Children Entered Detention January/February/March 2013, at the following centres
Cedars - 28, Tinsley House - 6,  Other IRCS - 3
Source: UKBA Statistical data set   

The number of decisions overturned on appeal is testament to on-going problems with the asylum decision-making process, Amnesty International and the Still Human Still Here coalition said as they published a new report. The report 'A question of credibility: Why so many initial asylum decisions are overturned on appeal in the UK' examines why so many initial decisions to refuse asylum are being overturned by Immigration Judges. Home Office statistics show 25% of initial decisions to refuse asylum are being overturned on appeal. Read the report

 
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Adjourned till 17 May
Just after 2.00pm, on 16 April in Glasgow Sheriff Court, the case defending refused refugees from eviction into destitution began.  YMCA Glasgow's advocate made the case – very briefly that the Y are not a public  body and therefore human rights conventions don't apply, that responsibility lies with the Secretary of State and not the Y and that it is legally incorrect that they will suffer destitution if evicted because they can apply for Section 4 support.  Time ran out and the case was adjourned till Fri 17 May when we expect to hear the refugees' advocate make their case. Further information from Glasgow Campaign to Welcome Refugees,  c/o Fire Brigades Union,
52 St Enoch's Square, Glasgow G1 4AA   

7 actual or potential conflict situations around the world deteriorated and two improved in March 2013, according to CrisisWatch. Deteriorated Situations: Central African Republic, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Myanmar, North Korea, Syria   Read More...

They have been described as "invisible people" - asylum seekers who have been refused refugee status, but who have not returned home. The Home Office says it wants them "to experience an increasingly uncomfortable environment" so they will leave, but critics say that they are just being forced into destitution. Glasgow is the first city in the UK to criticise this policy officially. (Catrin Nye, BBC)
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David Walker, Bishop of Dudley, in an interview with the Observer said: "Public fears around immigration are like fears around crime. They bear little relationship to the actual reality. "The tone of the current debate suggests that it is better for 10 people with a legitimate reason for coming to this country to be refused entry than for one person to get in who has no good cause. It is wholly disproportionate as a response. "Studies show that the vast majority of new arrivals to the UK enhance and enrich our society, both economically and culturally. The true threats to our national wellbeing lie not with those who come to visit or make their lives here but with the increasing gap between the rich and poor among us."  Toby Helm, The Observer, 23 March 2013   Read More...

There are an estimated six million stateless children around the world - children without a nationality who don't belong to any country - whose lives are insecure and futures uncertain. Many stateless children are denied access to education and health care. They are particularly vulnerable to exploitation and abuse, including being trafficked, forced into hazardous labour and sexual exploitation, locked up alongside adults and deported. Addressing statelessness is a vital step towards ensuring that millions of children can escape the cycle of marginalization and claim their rights to build better futures. Yet, despite these dangers and the risks that stateless children face, few international or national child protection systems include stateless children in their programming. This needs to change. There is an urgent need to address Stateless Children's Rights. Refworld 21/03/13   Read More...

Children Entering/Leaving Detention January Through December 2012. Altogether 226 children entered and left detention January through December 2012.  Removals and Voluntary Departures January through December 2012. In 2012, the number of enforced removals from the UK decreased by 4% to 14,435 from 15,063 in 2011.

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After years of challenging charter flights deporting Tamil people to Sri Lanka, the High Court finally ordered a suspension of removals for all Tamil failed asylum seekers. The success came about due to the hard work of barristers and solicitors, as pressure and evidence grew from  charities and the media.  They successfully argued that that Tamil failed asylum seekers are at threat of torture or ill treatment from the Sri Lankan authorities when they are returned by the UK. (guardian.co.uk/uk) 
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In 2012, 28,909 people entered detention, an increase of 7% compared with the previous year (27,089). Over the same period there was an increase of 5% in those leaving detention (from 27,181 to 28,538). Of those leaving detention, 60% were removed from the UK. 40% were returned to the community.   Read More...

A Nigerian Family were dawn raided in Glasgow. UKBA immigration officials burst into their home in Whiteinch, Glasgow yesterday (27 Feb) and detained the husband in front of his three young children and pregnant wife. The Unity Centre in Glasgow have issued a statement.
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A report published on Monday 25th February by the Maternity Action and the Refugee Council says that the immigration authorities are endangering the health of pregnant asylum seeking women and their babies by moving them to accommodation around the country and so removing them from essential healthcare and leaving them isolated. It also outlines cases of women who have been separated from the father of their child and left to give birth alone in a new area with no access to interpreters and others who have been moved several times during their pregnancies. The report also says that midwives are not always informed when their patients were moved and spent time searching for them. Scans and tests also had to be repeated in the new areas.
(Alan Travis, guardian.co.uk, 25/02/13)   Read More...

That this House believes that Britain can rightly be proud of its history of welcoming those fleeing persecution and war; welcomes the cross-party parliamentary report on asylum support for children and families; notes with concern the finding of that report that current asylum support levels are leaving up to 10,000 children destitute or in severe poverty; further believes that section 4 support rates are especially austere and that cash less payments impose damaging restrictions on how families buy essential items........   Read More...

7 actual or potential conflict situations around the world deteriorated and 2 improved in January 2013, according to the new issue of CrisisWatch. Deteriorated Situations: Egypt, Iraq, Kashmir, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, North Korea, Sri Lanka   Read More...

The number of women suspected of being trafficked to perform housework in embassies and private houses in Britain has increased amid warnings that vulnerable workers have been denied an escape route from domestic servitude by new immigration rules. The rise in domestic servitude comes amid a 25 per cent increase in the number of trafficking victims reported in 2012 to the national referral mechanism. The authorities say the increase to nearly 1,200 people could be attributable to both better detection of trafficking rings and an increase in the crime. (Paul Peachey, Indpendent, Sunday 03 February 2013)
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Thousands of children and their families who have sought refuge in the UK have been pushed into severe poverty by the low levels of asylum support, a parliamentary inquiry has revealed, concluding that the support system for asylum seekers is in urgent need of reform. The inquiry found evidence of children being left destitute and homeless, without state support, and forced to rely on food parcels. (Amelia Gentleman, The Guardian, 30/01/13)

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More than 2,000 immigrants, including many who want to join husbands or wives already in Britain, have been waiting up to 10 years to learn whether they will be allowed to stay in this country because of a bureaucratic blunder.  John Vine, the Independent Chief Inspector for Borders and Immigration, raised further doubts over the UK Border Agency's ability to cope in a report published today. (Nigel Morris,Indpendent, Thursday 24 January 2013)   Read More...

Government document outlines recommendations by prison inspectors as one detainee claims she was 'dragged like a dog. The UK Border Agency has rejected a call by prison inspectors to stop using force on pregnant women and children it is trying to remove from the UK, according to an internal government document seen by the Guardian. The document contains UKBA's response to recommendations for improvement at the government's new child detention facility, Cedars, near Gatwick airport, by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Prisons. (The Guardian, Friday 11 January 2013)

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This report discusses the ongoing human rights abuses and persecution taking place in five countries from which a high number of asylum seekers in the UK come from, and fear returning to when they are refused asylum here. The report also highlights the situation for those who remain in the UK because the situation that caused them to flee their country remains a reality. The UK government expects  people who are refused asylum here to return voluntarily, or be returned forcibly - but this often does not happen. Instead, those who stay are often forced into destitution
and risk, as they are left unsupported and unprotected by the UK government.   Read More...

People living legally in the UK have been incorrectly told to leave the country by a firm working for the government. Capita were contracted by the UK Border Agency (UKBA) in September to track down 174,000 illegal immigrants. Among those contacted by text and email were a woman with a UK passport, and a man with a valid visa who had invested £1m in a UK business. Capita said some of the information provided by the UKBA may be inaccurate. (Angus Crawford BBC News, 03/01/13)
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4 actual or potential conflict situations around the world deteriorated and none improved in December 2012, according to the new issue of CrisisWatch. Deteriorated Situations: Central African Republic, China/Japan, North Korea, Syria   Read More...

Criticism of long-term detention has been rife over the last few weeks from the Inspectorates of Prisons and of Borders and Immigration, charities and ex-detainees.  In the Guardian, a commentator questions the morality of UK's policy of indefinite detention. Please take action today: watch the video and write to your MP.   Read More...

As at 30 September 2012, National Statistics show that of the 3,091 people currently detained solely under Immigration Act powers in immigration removal centres, short term holding facilities and pre departure accommodation the 20 longest recorded lengths of detention are:   Read More...

Glasgow Campaign to Welcome Refugees are collecting new toys for presents for refugee children for festive season parties again this year. Every gift is both an act of kindness and a challenge to racism. Preferred last date for the Campaign to receive toys: Monday 10 December 2012. For information: Phone Jock or Margaret on 07870 286 632 or 07896 877 315 Email glascamref@gmail.com   

Open your eyes to Destitution in Scotland, when the law forces people to beg for food, it’s criminal. So let’s change it. New research in an independent study entitled Trapped - Destitution and Asylum in Scotland by Morag Gillespie, head researcher at Glasgow Caledonian University, shows that over a hundred asylum seekers in Glasgow are destitute – many of them children and pregnant women   Read More...

Lord Leveson states in the report that "when assessed as a whole, the evidence of discriminatory, sensational or unbalanced reporting in relation to ethnic minorities, immigrants and/or asylum seekers, is concerning."  He adds that while the majority of the press appear to report such matters responsibly, there are enough examples of careless or reckless reporting to conclude that discriminatory, sensational or unbalanced reporting in relation to ethnic minorities, immigrants and/or asylum seekers is a feature of journalistic practice in parts of the press, rather than an aberration. Read the full section on ethnic minorities, immigrants and asylum seekers here.

Electronic Immigration Network, 29 November 2012   Read More...

Archbishop Philip Tartaglia, President of the Bishops' Conference of Scotland has urged Scots to 'be lights of hope in the lives of our neighbours' at Christmas. In his message he refers to the plight of asylum seekers and urges 'all those in positions of civil authority to ease the burden of suffering of these people, to allow  them the basic human requirements of shelter and sustenance and to engage with them so that they might make their contribution to the common good'. Read on for the full text of the Archbishops' Message   Read More...

2 actual or potential conflict situations around the world deteriorated and none improved in November 2012, according to the new issue of CrisisWatch.  Deteriorated Situations:  DR Congo, Egypt   Read More...

At 30th September 2012 there were 3,091 persons in Immigration Detention. This is the highest number of detentions since records began and at that date, occupancy of the detention estate was 93.6% of capacity. A total of 47 children were detained in Q3 (disputed age minors, not included)
20 children entered Cedars Pre-Departure Accommodation in Q3 - (leaving the UK). 27 children entered Tinsley House IRC in Q3 - (entering the UK). [All data verbatim from UKBA statistical release Q3]   Read More...

On the 8 Nov, the UK parliament’s Home Affairs Committee published a report of its latest Inquiry into the work of the UK Border Agency. The Committee has now published their report online with the headline “Border Agency’s backlog spiralling out of control”, and that was the angle taken up by the media – that and the terrible spectre of an amnesty for “illegal immigrants”. Less widely reported were other serious issues of concern at the Border Agency: (source NCADC)   Read More...

4 actual or potential conflict situations around the world deteriorated ands none improved in October 2012, according to the new issue of CrisisWatch. Deteriorated Situations: Guinea-Bissau, Lebanon, North Korea, Myanmar   Read More...

Scotland 2005. A family is ripped from their home in a high-rise flat in Drumchapel and driven away in the middle of the night to be deported. . .   Driven by a fierce sense of injustice, a group of seven young women in a high school in Glasgow fight for the life of their friend and for the rights of children of asylum-seekers in Scotland. They take on the Scottish Government and the Home Office and succeed where adults and politicians failed.   Read More...

During last month’s Liberal Democrat party conference, deputy prime minister Nick Clegg claimed again that the government has fulfilled its promise to end the immigration detention of children.  It has not. It has simply re-branded the detention of children, opening a new detention facility for children at Pease Pottage, run by G4S and Barnardo’s. Yesterday, HM Inspector of Prisons (HMIP) published its first report on this new detention facility for children and families (“Cedars”).   Read More...

Over 72 million people, more than one in every hundred of the world's citizens, are now forcibly displaced, says a new report released by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). According to the 2012 World Disasters Report, growing numbers of people are forced into migration by a range of what it calls "increasingly complex 'drivers'" including conflict and violence, disasters, political upheaval and even by large-scale development projects. Of these, an estimated 20 million are living in a state of prolonged displacement.
(Ekklesia)   Read More...

Campaigners in Glasgow monitored court proceedings on 17 October, in solidarity with asylum seekers who could be evicted from their homes and forced into destitution. Groups in Glasgow are taking up the cause of asylum seekers facing eviction. The private company Serco assumed responsibility for housing asylum seekers in Scotland and Northern Ireland last month, having previously won a lucrative contract from the UK Border Agency (UKBA) worth some £175 million. In Glasgow, the consequences could well be enforced homelessness and destitution. (Jon Burnett, Institute of Race Relations)   Read More...

4 actual or potential conflict situations around the world deteriorated and none improved in September 2012, according to the new issue of CrisisWatch. Deteriorated Situations: China/Japan, Mali, Nagorno-Karabakh (Azerbaijan), Syria   Read More...

Children who come to the UK alone to seek asylum find the experience confusing, stressful and traumatic, a report suggests. The study by the Children's Society found there was a "culture of disbelief" among immigration staff dealing with children's asylum claims. It calls for a series of improvements to give young applicants more support. The UK Border Agency said it was already addressing many of the issues raised in the report ( BBC News)    Read More...

More routine use should be made of a controversial 'child-friendly' detention centre for families facing removal from Britain, according to a new Home Office watchdog. The independent family returns panel says that the child welfare charity Barnardo's, should drop its 'red line' that it should only be used as a last resort and that no more than 10% of the families facing removal should be held there.  The first annual report from the panel, says that immigration and private security staff should be given the right to use force to restrain teenage children who aggressively try to resist the removal of themselves and their families. (Guardian)   Read More...

Pregnant women, children and people with disabilities among those living on less than 77p a day, research finds. The report states that 1,849 destitute people were given emergency grants from  the Refugee Survival Trust from 2009 to 2012. The recipients were mostly male (76%) but included 128 families with children, 21 pregnant women and 25 new mothers. Almost half (49%) were homeless, including families with children, 26 people with mental health issues, four disabled people and five pregnant women and two new mothers.  Some interviewees had been in the asylum system for more than a decade. (Guardian 1/10/12)
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Scottish Refugee Council has raised concerns about the uncertainty facing asylum seekers in Glasgow, as contracts between Registered Social Landlords(RSLs) - including housing associations - and Serco remain unsigned. Serco, which has won the UK Border Agency contract to house asylum seekers in Scotland took over responsibility for providing accommodation for all new arrivals, or refused asylum seekers moving into emergency housing as part of their Section 4 support - from August 27   Read More...

More than 50 people drowned yesterday when a fishing boat carrying migrants promised refuge in Britain by smugglers sank after hitting rocks off the coast of western Turkey. Nine children were among the dead, according to Turkey's Dogan News Agency, though other reports said up to half of the 58 who drowned may have been children. Independent, Friday 07 September 2012
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Adults Entering/Leaning Detention. In the year ending June 2012, 28,242 people entered detention, an increase of 7% compared with the previous year (26,301). Over the same period there was an increase of 5% in those leaving detention (from 26,411 to 27,852). Of the 27,852 leaving detention, 62% were removed from the UK [38% returned to the community].   Read More...

Friday 17 August 6.00 - 7.00pm (Assembling from 5.30)

Red Road, 33 Petershill Drive, Glasgow. In spite of the condemnation and protest of the Scottish Parliament, Glasgow City Council, the Church of Scotland, the Catholic Church and other religious bodies, the STUC, Glasgow Trades Council and numerous trade union bodies and community and campaigning organisations, the eviction, enforced homelessness and absolute destitution of some 50 or more refused refugees is going ahead.

 

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5 actual or potential conflict situations around the world deteriorated ands none improved in July 2012, according to the new issue of CrisisWatch. Deteriorated Situations: India (non-Kashmir), Madagascar ,Mali, Syria, Tajikistan. Download the full report: CrisisWatch N°108 http://www.crisisgroup.org/ ~/media/Files/ CrisisWatch/2012/cw108   Read More...

5 actual or potential conflict situations around the world deteriorated ands none improved in July 2012, according to the new issue of CrisisWatch. Deteriorated Situations: India (non-Kashmir), Madagascar ,Mali, Syria, Tajikistan. Download the full report: CrisisWatch N°108   Read More...

Theresa May's minimum income threshold for immigrants was never properly debated in parliament.  Just over a week since far-reaching new immigration rules took effect - which will permanently separate many British citizens or settled residents from their non-European spouses, children and ageing relatives - the home secretary has suffered a severe defeat in the supreme court. Lucy Mair, guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 18 July 2012   Read More...

Refugee Action Wednesday 11th July 2012
A landmark ruling has found that the failure of the Home Office to provide access to support for asylum seekers waiting for a decision on their further claim for asylum for a minimum of three weeks is leading to homelessness and destitution.   Read More...

FPG was restrained and attached to security staff at all times, 24/7, during nearly 9 days hospiatlisation. This included while showering and using the toilet, as well as during medical consultations and treatment and while asleep. There was nothing in FGP’s history to suggest he would abscond from custody. The high court judge found that Serco, the private company that runs Colnbrook and Dungavel, acted in violation of the detainee's right not to be subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment.   Read More...

The government needs to do more to support an estimated 120,000 undocumented migrant children, who are living under the radar within the UK, the Children's Society told MPs at a select committee hearing on 4 July. Enver Solomon, policy director with the charity, said "child protection issues are not being prioritised over immigration control", and staff working both with these undocumented children and with asylum-seeking children, saw many situations where "immigration issues trump child protection issues". Amelia Gentleman, guardian.co.uk 5 July 2012
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5 actual or potential conflict situations around the world deteriorated ands none improved in June 2012, according to the new issue of CrisisWatch   Read More...

On 28 June the Glasgow City Chambers passed a motion condemning UKBA's policy of destitution for refused asylum seekers. The Chamber also called on the UK Government to change its policy to allow local authorities to assist refugees in danger of destitution.   Read More...

The Iraqi parliament has banned the forced return from Europe of tens of thousands of failed asylum seekers and threatened to fine airlines that take part in deportation programmes. The motion  ordered the Iraqi government to refuse to accept forcibly returned Iraqi refugees and to fine companies that returned forcibly deported refugees. Owen Bowcott, guardian.co.uk, Monday 2 July 2012       Read More...

7 actual or potential conflict situations around the world deteriorated and 1 improved in May 2012, according to the new issue of CrisisWatch. Deteriorated Situations: DR Congo, Lebanon, Mali, Mexico, Nepal, Pakistan, Syria   Read More...

Up to 1000 people marched on Saturday 16th June in Glasgow in defence of refugees facing eviction from their homes. The march organised by Glasgow Campaign to Welcome Refugees, NCADC, and Unity brought together church representatives, trade-unionists, community campaigners, politicians and students in a protest against the planned eviction of at least 80 refugees from their homes in Glasgow. Bishop Moran spoke at the demonstration and he also read out a statement by Archbishop Conti   Read More...

Home secretary Theresa May briefs MPs on changes that may disqualify non-EU partners from UK family visas
Home secretary Teresa May faces criticism from the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants over rule changes which would mean British citizens 'effectively exiled on account of choosing to have a relationship with a non-EEA national'. (Alan Travis, home affairs editor Guardian.co.uk, 8 June)   Read More...

Saturday 16 June assemble George Square at 12noon, march rounf city at 12.30pm arrive back in George Square for rally   Read More...

Removals and Voluntary Departures Q1/2012 People Seeking Asylum Q1/2012

There were 13,386 people (including port removals) who left forcibly or voluntarily during the first quarter of 2012. There were 4,818 asylum applications during the first quarter of 2012.

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NCADC has learned that yet another mass deportation flight to Kabul is scheduled for Tuesday 29 May, just minutes after midnight. Kabul, and the rest of Afghanistan, is simply not safe. As a recent Reuters report highlights, the situation in Afghanistan is deteriorating and will continue to do when foreign troops leave   Read More...

EDM 95     DETENTION OF TORTURE SURVIVORS 
EDM 96     TRIDENT REPLACEMENT
EDM 117   HUMAN RIGHTS, DEVELOPMENT AND ARMS TRADE TREATY
  

Refugee Week 18 - 24 June. 'Different pasts, shared future'
Refugee Week is a UK-wide programme of arts, cultural and educational events and activities that celebrates the contribution of refugees to the UK and promotes better understanding of why people seek sanctuary. Anyone can take part by organising, attending or taking part in activities.   Read More...

The Medical Justice report 'The Second Torture' finds rule that torture victims should not be locked up except in exceptional circumstances is routinely ignored. Torture victims who have been held in British immigration detention centres are to launch a high court legal challenge for false imprisonment against the UK Border Agency. An investigation by Medical Justice, a network of asylum detainees and doctors, based on a dossier of 50 cases published on Tuesday, claims that torture victims are now being routinely held in immigration detention centres in breach of the Home Office's own rules.   Read More...

A report by the Refugee Council to be published this week accuses the immigration service of continuing to detain child asylum seekers by wrongly classifying them as adults. The report, Not a Minor Offence, has been welcomed by other groups working with refugees and asylum seekers who are growing increasingly concerned by the numbers of age dispute cases. Last year one child spent almost three months locked up before it was finally accepted that he was not an adult.
Read more: Tracy McVeigh, The Observer, Sunday 20 May 2012   Read More...

The Heathrow independent monitoring board (IMB) says children of all ages are being detained at the airport for immigration purposes almost every day, and are sometimes kept overnight.
They are held in rooms that are small, stuffy and have no natural light. There is no access to the open air, no sleeping accommodation and only hand basins for washing. They often share space with unrelated adults and can be held in these conditions for many hours. Read article here
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Human rights campaigners have called on the Home Office to open more screening centres to stop asylum seekers being forced to travel to Croydon. Refugees who travel to the UK, but do not present themselves on arrival, have to travel to Lunar House, in Wellesley Road, to have their application assessed. Many have little food or money and end up sleeping on the streets in Croydon. Now a group representing female refugees in Scotland has started an e-petition which calls for screening to be routinely available across the UK. Patricia Zimouini Nganga, of the Refugee Women's Strategy Group, based in Glasgow, said: "When people flee their homes and arrive in this country they are often stressed and confused.  Croyden Today, Thursday, 3rd May 2012   Read More...

12 actual or potential conflict situations around the world deteriorated and 2 improved in April 2012, according to the new issue of CrisisWatch. Deteriorated Situations: Bahrain, DR Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Guinea-Bissau, Macedonia, Mali, North Korea, Pakistan, South Sudan, Sudan.  Download the full report:  Crisis Watch 105   Read More...

Saturday 21 April, 11am

RALLY & PROTEST, outside UKBA office, Brand Street, Glasgow.
Stop the Evictions    End Destitution    Housing is a Human Right

At a meeting on Tuesday night, attended by numerous organisations, it was agreed unanimously to continue the campaign against the eviction and enforced homelessness of refused refugees by calling the above rally and protest at the UKBA offices in Brand St, Govan.   

Scottish Refugee Council has published a response on it's website, and is stepping up its call for the UK Government to urgently address the issue of destitution facing asylum seekers Glasgow.
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The Children’s Society reveals asylum support levels for children and families fall alarmingly below mainstream benefit levels, leaving around 10,000 children in severe poverty for long periods of time.

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Please ask your MSPs to sign
S4M-02634 Humza Yousaf  (Scottish National Party): That the Parliament raises serious concern at the decision to evict 140 asylum seekers and refugees in Glasgow; recognises that many of these families come from war-torn conflict zones that would be unsafe to return to; understands that, if evicted, families will be left with no home and no access to work or benefits; believes that compassion must be shown to the most vulnerable in society, and considers organisations such as the Fire Brigades Union Scotland have given fantastic support with their generous donations to enable the families to remain housed in the short term.
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John Wilkes, Chief Executive of Scottish Refugee Council, Letters, The Glasgow Herald, 4 April 2012
The desperate situation of 100 people who have been refused asylum, and face eviction from their Ypeople accommodation unfortunately does not come as a surprise.   Read More...

9 actual or potential conflict situations around the world deteriorated and 2 improved in March 2012, according to the new issue of CrisisWatch.  Deteriorated Situations:  Afghanistan, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Yemen.  Download the full report: Crisis Watch 104   Read More...

Brooke Magnanti , The Guardian, 26 March 2012
Theresa May's leaked letter about family-route visas for non-EU nationals holds valuable insights into the motivations of the government. May proposes upping the minimum income level to £25,700 (£50k if you have two children) and increasing probationary visas from two to five years. At the moment, family-visa applicants must show  they have enough income to cover essential bills; most submit a budget to reflect their individual circumstances. This is to prevent migrants from relying on the state; what critics of family immigration don't realise is that most of us can't receive benefits.   Read More...

Three private security firms, G4S, Reliance and Serco, have been confirmed as the new landlords for people seeking asylum in the UK, in a controversial £620m contract with the UK Border Agency. You can read details at the UKBA website here The move takes housing provision away from the current mix of local authority, charity and private sector landlords, handing it over to three firms better known for running detention centres and enforcing deportations.     Read More...

Can an international convention drafted 60 years ago to protect a limited number of Europeans uprooted by World War II continue to provide protection to the millions of people around the world today forced to flee their countries for a variety of reasons? Today, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) is providing assistance and protection to over 15 million refugees throughout the world and the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees remains the cornerstone of that protection. However, millions more people have fled their countries for reasons that the drafters of the Convention could not have predicted. IRIN 26/03/12   Read More...

Possession of a nationality is essential for the protection of every child. As set out in article 7 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). This is important because while human rights are generally to be enjoyed by everyone, selected rights may be limited to nationals. For example, only 'citizens' have the unrestricted right to enter and reside in a country under international law. Stateless persons may therefore end up without any residence status or, worse, in prolonged detention. Statelessness also causes difficulties in a range of other areas, including travel, access to education and healthcare, and heightens the risk of trafficking. Statelessness may lead to displacement. Refworld   Read More...

Ayrshire Friends of the Refugees Group are organising a Solidarity Gathering on Sunday March 18th, 2012  for Mothers Day at Dungavel Detention Centre at 1 pm. Anyone interested is very welcome to attend.   

The largest security company in the world, G4S, and two other security companies are set to take over asylum-seeker housing, privatising the last  'humanitarian' public housing for those fleeing persecution. But this is only the latest evidence of asylum seekers being used as 'guinea pigs' to test unsavoury policies in such areas as welfare reform, legal aid and now housing.Asylum seekers were the guinea pigs for all kinds of brutal and unacceptable policies that are now beginning to be applied more widely." John Grayson, Institute of Race Relations, 8 March
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Immigration procedures can favour administrative convenience over safeguarding individuals' rights to liberty and security. Periods in detention can be unlawful if release or removal is not imminent. The UN High Commissioner of Refugees (UNHCR) has criticised Britain's use of fast track detention for asylum applicants for administrative convenience rather than last resort,
 and the lack of adequate safeguards to guarantee fairness of procedure and quality decision making.  The length of time in detention for those who have committed no crime risks breaching the right to liberty and security under Article 5.   Read More...

A new report by The Children's Society reveals alarming levels of destitution among refugee, asylum-seeking and migrant children and young people. Incredibly vulnerable young people are being left homeless, hungry and forced to resort to increasingly desperate means in order to survive. Read  the report at the Childrens' Society website here
Also reported at BBC here
  

Five actual or potential conflict situations around the world deteriorated and none improved in February 2012, according to the new issue of CrisisWatch.
Deteriorated Situations:  Afghanistan, Haiti, Maldives, Mali, Syria
Download the full report:  Crisis Watch 103   Read More...

UKBA released on 23/02/12 their latest immigration statistics from Home Office administrative sources, covering October/November/December 2011 here . . . .   Please note: The number of children being detained is rising again, from 6 in October last year to 28 in January 2012   Read More...

Refugee Survival Trust is launching a new animation which stars Scottish novelist and comedian A L Kennedy. The animation highlights the flaws  in the asylum system. It tells the stories of refugees and asylum seekers in Scotland who have been left hungry and homeless by problems, errors and delays in the asylum system.  The launch event will last around an hour with a screening of the film, brief talks and time for people to have a drink and find out more about RST’S work. The event is free but places are limited so please email communications@rst.org.uk if you would like to attend. 6:30pm on Tuesday February 29th at Iglu, 2b Jamaica Street, Edinburgh EH3 6HH   

The numbers game around immigration statistics has turned into a bloody battle.  There is a sense in which debates which solely contest the statistics of immigration miss many of the points
of anti-racist campaigning. Behind the statistics, are unsavoury politics. The political polls are suggesting the Con-Dem Coalition is, thus far, successful in both creating and exploiting commonsense racism and xenophobia. Such a climate would, of course, encourage a new wave of dangerous extremist violence. In the short term, though, lies, damn lies and statistics seem to be a useful marketing strategy for the far-right populist party British Conservatives are becoming.
Read the full article: By John Grayson, IRR, 9th February 2012   Read More...

Seven actual or potential conflict situations around the world deteriorated and two improved in January 2012, according to the new issue of CrisisWatch   Read More...

Private security guards employed to forcibly remove people from the UK have used racist language and inappropriate force. A report by MPs Commons' Home Affairs Committee said the UK Border Agency should challenge unacceptable behaviour by some of its contractor. "It is a matter for serious concern that contractors should use racist language among themselves," said the report. "That they were content to do so in front of not only UK Border Agency staff but also inspectors from HM Inspectorate of Prisons is shocking. It is possibly the result of a relationship between the Agency and its contractors which had become too cosy." BBC News Thursday 26th January 2012   Read More...

Trafficked children arriving alone at Dover were sent straight back to France under a secret "gentleman's agreement" that was in force since at least 1995, an investigation by the children's commissioner for England has revealed. The report by Maggie Atkinson reveals that unaccompanied children who arrived clandestinely at Dover docks or through the Channel tunnel are often hungry, ill, exhausted and distressed, yet were returned to France within 24 hours if they did not immediately apply for asylum. The children, who arrived on the backs of lorries or in containers, included those being trafficked for exploitation as well as those fleeing war zones and persecution. Read More: Alan Travis, The Guardian, 17/01/12   Read More...

Study refutes claim that foreign nationals are depriving British-born workers of jobs. There is no link between rising immigration and rising unemployment, independent economists have found - contradicting persistent claims from anti-immigration activists and politicians that an influx of foreign nationals into the UK in recent years has led to more British-born workers on the dole.
Ben Chu, Independent, 10/10/12   Read More...

The Ay family, Kurdish asylum seekers from Turkey, were arrested and detained in Dungavel for 13 months in 2002, in contravention of UN Conventions to which the UK was a party. At the forefront of public protest in Scotland was Bishop John Mone, then President of the Justice and Peace Commission.   Almost a decade later, the Home Office has settled a civil suit brought by the family with an out of court payment.   Read More...

Ten actual or potential conflict situations around the world deteriorated and one improved in December 2011, according to the new issue of CrisisWatch   Read More...

The UK Border Agency has announced the 'preferred bidders' to provide accommodation for asylum seekers across the UK for the next 5 years. Public and voluntary sector providers have been completely replaced by the three big multinational companies, all active in the detention and deportation business. The preferred bidders, for Scotland are Serco Civil Government.   Read More...

Eight actual or potential conflict situations around the world deteriorated and four improved in November 2011, according to the new issue of CrisisWatch.
Deteriorated Situations: Afghanistan, Burundi, DR Congo, Kosovo, Pakistan, South Sudan,  Sudan, Syria   Read More...

The annual appeal for festive season gifts for asylum seeker children is as important as ever.   Asylum seeker parents continue to have to cope with long-term enforced idleness and extreme poverty and children continue to be detained and deported in distressing circumstances in spite of Nick Clegg’s claims to the contrary. They are collecting new toys for presents for refugee children for festive season parties. Preferred last date for the Campaign to receive toys, Monday 12 December 2011. To help, or arrange delivery or uplift,  phone 07870 286 632 or 07896 877 315, or Email; glascamref@gmail.com (leave a phone number)   

The debates about lost cases, strong borders and foreign criminals seem to overlook that immigrants are human. Writing for the Institute for Race Relations on Nov 4, John Grayson maps the shift to the right taken by our political parties. He argues that ideas that once belonged to the BNP have been used by the Conservatives and the Labour party in an attempt to win votes.    Read More...

Deteriorated Situations: Kenya, Philippines, Somalia, Yemen   Read More...

Victims of human trafficking who end up in the UK could be forced to claim asylum to stay in the country, the general secretary of the Immigration Law Practitioners Group has warned. Alison Harvey said asylum claims would continue to be publicly funded under the legal aid bill, but other immigration cases would not, apart from those involving detention or questions of national security.
Solicitors Journal, 25 October 2011   Read More...

In May 2010 the Government announced that it would end the immigration detention of children. But between May 2011 and the end of August 2011, 697 children were held at Greater London and South East ports. Almost one third were unaccompanied children. This could mean as many as 2,000 children are being detained each year. The Children's Society, 17 October 2011.   Read More...

Asylum Procedures and Reception Conditions Directives. House of Commons / 13 Oct 2011   Read More...

Article by Amelia Gentleman,  Guardian.co.uk, Monday 17 October 2011 "After promising last year to end child detention in failed asylum cases – and closing the notorious Yarl's Wood unit – the government opened a smart new centre for deportees. But isn't this still detention?"   Read More...

8 actual or potential conflict situations around the world deteriorated in September 2011, according to the latest issue of the International Crisis Group's monthly bulletin CrisisWatch.   Read More...

"Among the many things that Liberal Democrats can be proud of when squaring up to their critics, Clegg told delegates, was that child detention has “ended”. Michael Moore, the Lib Dem Secretary of State for Scotland, was a little more circumspect. Borrowing - perhaps inadvertently - from Star Trek, he declared: “We have ended child detention as we know it.” .... While Moore, Brake and Clegg may be able to spot the difference in the child detention we knew, can anyone else?   Read More...

In response to a previous article on complaining to the media, Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI) were asked to provide ammunition in the form of exactly what asylum seekers do get whilst waiting for a decision. there are so many incidences of tabloids reporting asylum seekers of living in the lap of luxury and costing a huge amount to accommodate, it is necessary to point out the facts. JCWI 15th September 2011   Read More...

5 actual or potential conflict situations around the world deteriorated in August 2011, according to the latest issue of the International Crisis Group's monthly bulletin CrisisWatch.   Read More...

A children's charity has come under fire for its role supporting families held while awaiting deportation. Rosie Scammell, Guardian. Tuesday 23 August 2011 T   Read More...

8 actual or potential conflict situations around the world deteriorated in July 2011, according to the latest issue of the International Crisis Group's monthly bulletin CrisisWatch.   Read More...

A new play which tells the story of hunger strikes by a group of asylum-seeking women held at Yarl’s Wood detention centre opens at the Edinburgh Fringe this week   Read More...

Letters to the Guardian on the 60th anniversary of the signing of the refugee convention. 
Wednesday 27 July   Read More...

Despite Nick Clegg's promises, child detention never quite went away and is now making a comeback

When the government announced last year that it would end the detention of children for immigration purposes, it felt as if a ray of sunshine had broken into a debate that had become increasingly dark and cruel. Natasha Walter guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 27 July 2011   Read More...

A new short film made to mark the anniversary of the 1951 Refugee Convention
The film was made in early 2011 by six men and women from across the world - who all came to Scotland seeking safety. They created the film with the assistance of Media Co-op and Scottish Refugee Council. Courage was launched on Monday, June 20 as part of Refugee Week.   Read More...

7 actual or potential conflict situations around the world deteriorated in June 2011, according to the latest issue of  CrisisWatch.   Read More...

Guardian 17 June 2011
Ministers have been warned by an official immigration watchdog of the "excessively long" periods, including cases of more than three years, that detainees are being held at Europe's largest removal centre.  A "snapshot" taken last December showed that 35 detainees at Harmondsworth removal centre, near Heathrow airport, had been waiting more than 12 months to be deported, including seven who had been waiting more than two years. Harmondsworth's officially appointed independent monitoring board (IMB) said one man had been held in detention for three years and seven months at a cost of £110 a night. The bill is already more than £144,000.   Read More...

The Refugee Council supports Outcry! and is calling on the Government to urgently end child detention and put children's welfare at the heart of asylum policy. There is no practical reason why the detention of children should not be stopped today.  Tell your MP that child detention must end today   

The Refugee Council is calling for people who’ve waited more than six months for a decision on their asylum claim, and people who’ve been refused asylum but are unable to leave the UK through no fault of their own, to be allowed to work to support themselves.  To get involved, email campaigns@refugeecouncil.org.uk with the name of your MP, or just your postcode if you’re unsure who your MP is. We’ll tell you if your MP has signed the declaration and if they haven’t, we’ll give you all the information you need to go and see them in person to discuss the campaign. A face-to-face meeting with your MP is a powerful way of showing your support for people who’ve come to the UK to escape war, torture and persecution.   

European Governments: "Their silence and passivity are difficult to accept. When preventing migrants from coming has become more important than saving lives, something has gone dramatically wrong."   Read More...

At least 70 Iraqi refugees have been rounded up in the UK over the last few weeks, as the UK government plans a controversial mass deportation charter flight to Baghdad.
Officials from the Iraqi government are currently visiting detainees to confirm their identities so that they can be deported, as part of an agreement between the two governments. The majority of the detainees have refused to meet with the officials in protest at their role in the deportations.   Read More...

7 actual or potential conflict situations around the world deteriorated in May 2011, according to the latest issue of  CrisisWatch.   Read More...

Published 26 May 2011, at the Home Office website
The number of applications for asylum, excluding dependants, was 11 per cent higher in Q1 2011 (4,845) compared with Q1 2010 (4,355). This represents the first quarter since Q2 2009 for which the number of applications is higher than the quarter a year earlier.   Read More...

Dave Prentis, UNISON General Secretary has  written to the Acting Chief Executive of the UK Border Agency (UKBA), warning over the dangers of cutting funds paid to councils for caring and supporting unaccompanied child asylum seekers. Cuts of up to 15%* to some local authorities are set to create a two tier system, with child asylum seekers receiving significantly worse care.   Read More...

Theresa May stressed that Britain would not accept migrants fleeing Libya and Tunisia as divisions opened within the European Union over how
The Home Secretary is resisting calls from Italy, which has borne the brunt of thousands of refugees crossing the Mediterranean, for other EU countries to "share the burden" of accommodating the new arrivals. Britain is offering to help the Italian government cope with the refugees, but insisting none will be given shelter in the UK. By Nigel Morris, Deputy Political Editor, Independent, Friday, 13 May 2011   Read More...

11 actual or potential conflict situations around the world deteriorated in April 2011, according to the latest issue of the International Crisis Group's monthly bulletin CrisisWatch.   Read More...

double from a year earlier
50,000 civilians flee Somalia in first quarter, double from a year earlier
The UN refugee agency said Friday that an increasing number of Somali civilians were fleeing their country amid the deteriorating security situation, with 50,000 arriving in neighbouring countries in the first quarter of this year compared to 23,000 in the same period in 2010. UNHCR  29 April 2011   Read More...

Guardian 29/04/11
"HIV patients at a London hospital have in effect been imprisoned following a move by immigration officials to secure the sexual health unit, NHS consultants claim. ... HIV specialist Ben Holden, a consultant at the hospital, said: "The unit is now a prison for us all. Our windows only open two inches but UKBA have installed chunky locks on them. We were told they would bring removable window restraints but these are permanent. No detainee has ever absconded or attempted to abscond. As doctors we believe that to keep immigration detainees restrained or locked in is discriminatory. I don't want to be part of a process that treats people in a less than human way." ...Emma Ginn, co-ordinator of the charity Medical Justice – which recently published Detained and Denied, a report cataloguing examples of poor medical treatment for HIV-positive detainees – said: "Along with the potentially lethal medical abuse they suffer in detention centres detainees are suffering sub-human conditions in hospital."   Read More...

Children are being held overnight in "degrading" conditions at Heathrow Airport, a watchdog has warned. The airport independent monitoring board (IMB) said facilities at the airport were "wholly unsuitable". "The UK Border Agency (UKBA) has again failed in its duty to treat everyone in its care in Heathrow holding rooms with decency," the watchdog's report said. BBC News, 18 April 2011   Read More...

The Home Office has cut advice and reception services for newly arrived asylum seekers by more than 60% . Br Stephen Power from Jesuit Refugee Services fears this will have a very detremental effect on the lives of some very vulnerable people.   Read More...

The announcement by the Coalition Government back in May 2010 that it would be ending the detention of children for immigration purposes was widely welcomed. Finally the wealth of accumulated evidence on the gap between policy and practice in decisions to detain, and on the negative impacts of detention on children’s mental and physical well-being was being taken into account. Or so it seemed.   Read More...

10 actual or potential conflict situations around the world deteriorated in March 2011, according to the latest issue of the International Crisis Group's monthly bulletin CrisisWatch.   Read More...

A round-up of some recent parliamentary questions on asylum issues
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UKBA, 14 March 2011
Britain will resume enforcing the return of failed asylum seekers to Zimbabwe, the Government has said. The move comes after asylum judges ruled there was no evidence that those being returned would generally be at risk of harm. (The Press Association)   Read More...

The international treaty which guarantees refugees’ rights.

British lawyers played a crucial role in drafting the Convention and the UK was one of the first countries to sign. The Refugee Convention has saved countless lives and no country has ever withdrawn from it.

To mark this anniversary, we’re asking 10,000 people to join with us in speaking up for a great British tradition – refugee protection – by signing the pledge   Read More...

The Herald March 7
THE future for hundreds of asylum seekers in Glasgow has been thrown into fresh doubt after claims a new contract to support and house them is on the brink of collapse.   Read More...

Now available to download at the Glasgow Destitution Network website
21 Months Destitution and the asylum system. later is a follow-up to the Refugee Survival Trust and Red Cross joint research, 21 Days later, published in January 2009. The 21 days referring to the time period from refusal of asylum claim to support ending, and the report explored the causes and  extent of destitution experienced by asylum claimants  and refugees in Scotland based on analysis of more  than five years worth of data   Read More...

Popular revolt continued to convulse the Arab world in February. The rapid spread and escalation of unrest underlined the magnitude of events, but their pace makes the direction of change uncertain.  Nine actual or potential conflict situations around the world deteriorated in February 2011, according to the latest issue of the International Crisis Group's monthly bulletin CrisisWatch.   Read More...

The number of applications for asylum, excluding dependants, was 27 per cent lower in 2010 (17,790) compared with 2009 (24,485).   Read More...

Asylum seekers should have the right to lodge their claims for asylum in Scotland according to a report issued on Friday, 25 February. The report, 21 Months Later, produced by the British Red Cross and the Refugee Survival Trust (RST), highlights the plight of people who currently have to travel from Scotland to Croydon, in South London, to register their claims – with no financial support from the government   Read More...

Contact your MP
We need your help today to stop cuts to vital services for refugees. Act now: Tell your MP that the dramatic cuts to refugee advice services must be stopped
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The Independent, Jonathan Brown, 4 February 2011
The Coalition is accused of watering down its promise to end the detention of child asylum seekers by setting up new centres to detain families refusing to leave the UK   Read More...

Guardian, Amelia Hill, 1 February 2011
The Refugee Council is to have its government funding cut by almost 62% with cuts to frontline services beginning "almost immediately" and fully implemented in three months' time.   Read More...

Four actual or potential conflict situations around the world deteriorated and two improved in January 2011, according to the latest issue of the International Crisis Group's monthly bulletin CrisisWatch.   Read More...

UK immigration minister Damien Green has again apologised for the "inappropriateness" of a letter sent to asylum seekers in Glasgow in November.   Read More...

says human rights leader Shami Chakrabarti
Shami Chakrabarti, director of human rights organisation Liberty, called on Scots to ‘set an example of welcome’ to refugees from across the world today   Read More...

MPs to grill borders chief and security firm over Jimmy Mubenga death. Guardian, 19th October.   Read More...

There was a 23.6% fall in the number of people who sought asylum in the UK between May and July, compared to the same period last year, figures show.   Read More...

Nick Clegg's passionate attack on the detention of children in immigration centres is not reflected by his government in action.   Read More...

A report by Medical Justice, 9 September 2010   Read More...

Immigration minister Damian Green announces intention to 'minimise' detention of children rather than end practice.   Read More...

2007 marks 200 years since the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade in the British Empire.   Read More...