April 2018

Waiting times for immigration appeals rise by 45%

The Independent ran a story last week about the length of time that people who appeal Home Office immigration decisions have to wait. Average waiting times, data shows, have increased dramatically – by 45% – over the last year.  In 2016, an appeal took on average 31 weeks. The process now takes a year (52 […]

Refugee family left homeless because judged “resilient enough”

A couple and their two daughters, who fled the Syrian conflict in 2012, were evicted from their privately rented residence in Enfield two weeks ago, the Independent reports. They have been refused housing support because they were judged “resilient enough” to face homelessness. Muhamed and Rouzeh Shouesh – trained as an engineer and a solicitor,

Right to Rent is ineffective, and unmonitored

Last week, the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration (ICIBI) released a report reviewing the “Right to Rent” scheme.  Right to Rent is part of the panoply of measures introduced by the government to create a “hostile environment” for migrants in the UK. Its aim is to prevent undocumented migrants from accessing rented accommodation

Focus on equality, not integration

The government’s recently published Green Paper on integration contains some welcome considerations, and acknowledges that integration is “a two way street.” Yet the emphasis still lies disproportionately on migrant communities’ own abilities and dispositions, implicitly perpetuating the idea that they are the real “problem” of integration. Existing evidence points to inequalities as a much more

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