There are two films here: ‘Suspended’, and ‘Roots’

These films are short, and ‘Roots’ in particular will be very appropriate for adults, but also for showing in schools.

Inscape Animations is a group of three women who use the medium of film to address global issues such as war, migration and climate change. Throu​gh a combination of sound, image and words, we aim to explore complex ideas and challenge xenophobic narratives.

There are two films: ‘Suspended’, and ‘Roots’

You can see the films here: Inscape Animations: http://inscapeanimations.com

A Letter to the People of the UK

16 March 2021: Hasting Community of Sanctuary: Speaking from the Heart about Napier Barracks

Erfan – a former resident held in Napier Barracks for nearly 6 months, and who was one of the nearly 200 people who contracted Covid in the massive outbreak in the barracks in January has written a powerful letter to the People of the UK. We are honoured to share it here.

The letter can also be found here: Help Refugees: https://helprefugees.org/news/a-letter-to-the-people-of-the-uk-from-a-former-resident-of-napier-barracks/

A Letter to the People of the UK

Dear People of the UK,

You may know me from the letters which were written on behalf of the Napier barracks residents. I am now outside of the camp and cannot talk on behalf of my other friends. However, I personally would like to say a few important things about what I have seen and learnt during my stay at Napier Barracks and the United Kingdom.

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Waiting for Nothing

17 March 2021 StatusNow4All: Waiting for years – then told we must reply in 10 days!

People are telling us that they have recently received letters asking them to resubmit their original application for asylum or Further Leave to Remain and any updating evidence, within 10 days, or their case will be determined on the basis of documents already in the Home Office. The Home Office has told another person’s solicitor that they have lost the casefile.

We raise the following points:

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The problem with “credibility” as a concept in asylum cases

17 March 2021 Freemovement: Colin Yeo: Whether or not a person is telling the truth about past events often becomes the central issue in many asylum claims. Sometimes this is appropriate. The question of whether an asylum seeker will face a real risk of being persecuted in future does in some cases turn on the truth or otherwise of key elements of the asylum seeker’s account of past events. If an asylum seeker is lying about being a political activist, for example, but claims future risk of being persecuted because of their past and perhaps future political activities, it will usually (but not always) be necessary to consider whether the asylum seeker is telling the truth about their past history.

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Appointment process for the role of Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration

Updated 15 March 2021:New Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration appointed

David Neal to begin his appointment on Monday 22 March 2021 as Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration (ICIBI) for a term of 3 years.From:Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration and Home OfficePublished:15 March 2021

Home Secretary Priti Patel has today (15 March 2021) welcomed the appointment of David Neal as the new Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration.

The Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration is an independent monitoring body sponsored by the Home Office that reports on the efficiency and effectiveness of the immigration, asylum, nationality and customs functions carried out by the Home Secretary, officials and others on her behalf.

Mr Neal takes up the role having formerly served as head of the Royal Military Police and Commander of the 1st Military Police Brigade.

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Vice: Europe’s Forgotten Graveyard

Desperate people in desperate circumstances need a safe place to live. An estimated 19,000 people have been reported dead or missing in the Mediterranean Sea since 2014 as they attempt the treacherous boat journey from Libya to Europe, fleeing war, persecution and poverty.

It is time for people who are undocumented and those in the legal process to be given Indefinite Leave to Remain in UK. https://statusnow4all.org/edm-1442-undocumented-migrants-and-covid-19-vaccination/

They ask why there is no European Search & Rescue Area.

This is a film made in November 2020: Vice: An estimated 19,000 people have been reported dead or missing in the Mediterranean Sea since 2014 as they attempt the treacherous boat journey from Libya to Europe, fleeing war, persecution and poverty. We went on the frontline with a rescue mission trying to save as many lives as possible.

We join the ‘Open Arms’ crew as they embark on the most dangerous migrant route in the world — and one of their deadliest missions to date.

An estimated 19,000 people have been reported dead or missing in the Mediterranean Sea since 2014 as they attempt the treacherous boat journey from Libya to Europe, fleeing war, persecution and poverty.

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Asylum queue longer than 10 years ago

Updated 7 March 2022: Freemovement: Briefing: the (Sorry) State of the UK Asylum System

The United Kingdom’s asylum system has been described by the current Home Secretary as “broken”. There is some truth in that statement. In many ways, the asylum system is now in a parlous state. What the Home Secretary does not say is that it was she who broke it.
In this short briefing we will take a look at the whole of the process, from the numbers claiming asylum to the decision-making process, the cost of the system, the volume and quality of decisions, the outcomes of appeals, the use of detention and the number of removals. The information is drawn mainly from the quarterly immigration statistics and transparency data for the year ended December 2021, the most recent available at the time of writing.
Arguably the stand out problem of the asylum system today is the time it takes for decisions to be made. This is a recent development. The backlog of asylum seekers waiting more than six months for a decision to be made on their case has trebled since Priti Patel took over as Home Secretary in 2019. While the pandemic might have made the issue harder to remedy, the trend began long before it began. It looks like an example of failing to mend one’s roof while the sun shines.
Read more: Freemovement, https://rb.gy/z3q3nj

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Study of children joining family in England under the Dublin III Regulation

November 2020: IFF Research on behalf of Dept of Education:

Conclusions
This study has attempted to fill the evidence gap about what happens to Dublin III and Calais Camp Clearance children and young people, their support needs, and the experiences of the local authorities they move into, from the perspectives of staff within local authorities and the children/ young people and their families. It has found a mixed picture in terms of outcomes for children and young people, with the majority of those covered by the available data having become a looked after child at some point.

Family living arrangements broke down in around one-third of cases. Upfront assessments are sometimes squeezed by time or information and local authorities would feel more confident making recommendations if they could do a more in-depth, holistic assessment, which they felt would also help to identify potential issues that might affect the sustainability of the arrangement in the longer-term. This is important as the survey identified that relationship issues were the biggest factor in the breakdown of an arrangement. Assessments therefore need to look beyond finances and housing to consider wider issues such as how it will impact on the dynamics of wider family (which would involve a more in-depth assessment). Local authorities also emphasised the need to make very clear to families that no extra substantive financial support or housing support will be on offer, to manage their expectations.

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ICIBI report: An inspection of the work of Border Force, Immigration Enforcement, and UK Visas and Immigration to identify, investigate, disrupt and prosecute perpetrators of modern slavery and human trafficking

4 March 2021: Publishing the report, David Bolt said:

In 2017, ICIBI reported on the identification and treatment of Potential Victims of Modern Slavery (PVoMS) by Border Force, following this up in 2018 with a re-inspection to check on progress made in implementing ICIBI’s recommendations.

Following discussions with the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner about where a further inspection might add most value, between October 2019 and April 2020 ICIBI examined the work being done by Border Force, Immigration Enforcement and UK Visas and Immigration to identify, investigate, disrupt and prosecute the perpetrators of modern slavery and human trafficking (MSHT).

The inspection found that while operational activity overall had increased since the Modern Slavery Strategy was launched in 2014, the work of the Home Office’s three Borders, Immigration and Citizenship System (BICS) operational directorates, and that of the wider Home Office, remained siloed and disjointed, with little evidence of a plan to address this.

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