The UK and the ECHR After Brexit: The Challenge of Immigration Control – EIN Blog

Posted March 15th, 2024 in asylum, brexit, EC law, human rights, immigration, news by sally

‘This article examines the challenges that immigration control-related political imperatives in the United Kingdom (UK) have posed for UK compliance with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and evaluates the challenges that the UK’s moving away from ECHR compliance pose for its post-Brexit relationship with the European Union (EU) and its member states. The contribution begins with an examination of the constitutional parameters of UK (non-)compliance with the ECHR in the field of immigration control and the implications of this for the post-Brexit arrangements with the EU and its member states. The contribution then focuses on substantive immigration and refugee law and the impact of the current situation on asylum transfer co-operation within and outside of the EU. Through these areas, the article examines how EU law has infiltrated the interpretation of the ECHR with the result of raising standards of protection for asylum seekers and migrants and hampering the exercise of state sovereignty in the field.’

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EIN Blog, 14th March 2024

Source: www.ein.org.uk

Madeline Gleeson & Theodore Konstadinides: The UK’s Rwanda policy and Lessons from Australia- UK Constitutional Law Association

‘In November 2023, the Supreme Court of the UK dealt a critical blow to the government’s proposal to send certain asylum seekers to the Republic of Rwanda. In AAA and Others v the Home Secretary, the Court ruled that removal to Rwanda would be unlawful because that country was not, at the time, a ‘safe country’.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 14th March 2024

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

Court of appeal decides the secretary of state is wrong, wrong, wrong: the charter applies to people with pre-settled status – Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law

‘Previously in the saga of benefits and pre-settled status (PSS – the status awarded to EU nationals and their family members covered by the Withdrawal Agreement if they have been in the UK less than 5 years), the UK government introduced regulations in 2019 stipulating that PSS awarded under the EU Settlement Scheme was not a sufficient right to reside for EU nationals to pass the habitual residence test when claiming many benefits. These regulations were challenged on the basis that they were discriminatory on the grounds of nationality, and while the Court of Appeal (COA) agreed in Fratila v SSWP [2020] EWCA Civ 1741, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) found in CG that people with PSS were not protected from nationality discrimination (Case C-709/20 CG v The Department for Communities in Northern Ireland EU:C:2021:602).’

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Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law, 8th March 2024

Source: www.tandfonline.com

Civil servants threaten ministers with legal action over Rwanda bill – The Guardian

‘Civil servants have threatened ministers with legal action over concerns that senior Home Office staff could be in breach of international law if they implement the government’s Rwanda deportation bill.’

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The Guardian, 12th March 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Home Office is dysfunctional, says ex-borders watchdog David Neal – BBC News

Posted March 11th, 2024 in government departments, immigration, news, whistleblowers by tracey

‘The Home Office is dysfunctional and in urgent need of reform, the recently-sacked independent borders inspector has told the BBC’s Today Podcast.’

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BBC News, 11th March 2024

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Navigating the New UK Unmarried Partner Visa Rules – Richmond Chambers

Posted March 8th, 2024 in chambers articles, cohabitation, families, immigration, news, visas by sally

‘To enter the UK as a “partner” under Appendix FM to the Immigration Rules (“FM” being short for “Family Member”), there are three possible ways to qualify as a “partner”. First, as a “spouse”. Second, as a “civil partner”. Third, as an “unmarried partner”.’

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Richmond Chambers, 28th February 2024

Source: immigrationbarrister.co.uk

Afghanistan: Judge hunted by Taliban wins court case against UK government – BBC News

Posted March 8th, 2024 in Afghanistan, asylum, government departments, immigration, judges, news by sally

‘An Afghan judge who has been forced to go into hiding from the Taliban was wrongly refused relocation to the UK, the High Court has ruled.’

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BBC News, 7th March 2024

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Rwanda bill: House of Lords inflicts further defeats on government plan – BBC News

Posted March 7th, 2024 in asylum, bills, deportation, immigration, news, parliament, Rwanda by sally

‘The government has suffered five further defeats in the House of Lords over its Rwanda bill.’

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BBC News, 6th March 2024

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Stopping migrant care workers bringing their families will have a devastating effect on the UK’s already struggling care sector – EIN Blog

Posted March 6th, 2024 in care workers, families, government departments, immigration, news, visas by sally

‘The home secretary, James Cleverly, has reiterated the UK government’s plan to stop overseas care workers bringing dependants to the UK. Taking to X (formerly Twitter) on February 19, he wrote: “Today in Parliament we have laid out an order to ban overseas care workers from bringing dependants. This is just one part of our plan to deliver the biggest-ever cut in migration.”‘

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EIN Blog, 5th March 2024

Source: www.ein.org.uk

Calls for inquiry after refugee children made to guess who got foster care in ‘game’ – The Guardian

‘Foster families and social workers are demanding an independent inquiry after it emerged that Home Office-employed staff forced refugee children to play a game to guess who would be the next one to be placed in foster care.’

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The Guardian, 4th March 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

When Treaties are Forbidden – EIN Blog

‘Safe Third Country (STC) agreements involve the transfer of protection-seekers from one State to another. They take different forms, including bilateral treaties (the UK-Rwanda Treaty), political agreements (the Italy-Albania MoU) and regional mechanisms (Dublin III). They are usually justified as a means of sharing responsibility for protecting refugees and ‘managing’ access to asylum determination processes, as is the case for the Canada-US Safe Third Country Agreement. In other contexts their explicit purpose is to deter and to punish.

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EIN Blog, 29th February 2024

Source: www.ein.org.uk

Sunak’s asylum laws trapping 55,000 people in ‘perma-backlog’, says UK thinktank – The Guardian

Posted February 28th, 2024 in asylum, delay, deportation, government departments, immigration, news, Rwanda by sally

‘Rishi Sunak’s asylum laws have introduced a “perma-backlog” of up to 55,000 people who cannot have their claims processed and risk being left indefinitely in taxpayer-funded temporary accommodation, according to a new report.’

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The Guardian, 28th February 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Hundreds of small boat migrants charged with illegal entry to UK after new powers come into force – The Independent

Posted February 27th, 2024 in asylum, children, immigration, news, prosecutions, young persons by tracey

‘Hundreds of small boat migrants have been charged with arriving illegally in the UK, or arranging the arrival of others, in the year after new powers came into force. New analysis from the University of Oxford and a coalition of charities shows that in the year following the expansion of the government’s new laws on restricting channel crossings, the Nationality and Borders Act, some 240 small boat migrants were charged with illegal arrival to the UK.’

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The Independent, 26th February 2024

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Asylum seeker with home-made boat sentenced after four migrants die in Channel – The Independent

‘An asylum seeker has been detained for nine years and six months for the manslaughter of fellow migrants who drowned trying to cross the English Channel.’

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The Independent, 23rd February 2024

Source: www.independent.co.uk

UK signs new deal with EU to tackle small boat crossings – BBC News

Posted February 23rd, 2024 in asylum, EC law, government departments, immigration, news, trafficking in human beings by michael

‘The UK has signed a new deal with the EU’s border agency to work more closely together to stop small boats crossing the English Channel.’

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BBC News, 23rd February 2024

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Lewis Graham: Paused Policies, Secret Policies and the Rule of Law: XY v Secretary of State for the Home Department – UK Constitutional Law Association

‘It is hard to think of a concept with a more contested definition in legal and political circles than “the rule of law”. The question of what content (if any) might be found within it (and indeed, what “it” even is – a political truth? A normative ideal? A mere slogan?) has been taken up, with varying degrees of enthusiasm, by first-year law students, wizened academics, campaigning groups and politicians. If it sometimes seems that a thicker, rights-laden understanding of the term has taken root, detractors are always quick to emerge, eager to remind us of what the rule of law is and what it is not. There is a real danger in piling too much upon the notion so as to distort the concept, which may cause us to lose sight of why the rule of law is uniquely important. At the very least, framing the rule of law narrowly helps ensure that an appropriate degree of opprobrium can be generated in those instances when it is, in fact, undermined.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 22nd February 2024

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

SSHD’s appeal on Bouchereau exception dismissed by Court of Appeal – EIN Blog

Posted February 20th, 2024 in criminal records, disclosure, drug offences, immigration, news by tracey

‘Secretary of State for the Home Department v Okafor [2024] EWCA Civ 23 (23 January 2024). The Court of Appeal has held that UT Judge Grubb’s decision to allow the appeal of Mr Okafor, a Nigerian citizen against the refusal of his leave to enter the UK under the EU Settlement Scheme, notwithstanding his previous conviction for serious drug offences and subsequent related disclosure failures when applying for leave to enter, disclosed no error of law that justified or permitted interference. The judge had considered the cumulative effect of all relevant matters and had not erred in concluding that the individual’s overall conduct did not fall within the exception in R v Bouchereau (Case 30-77) [1978] QB 732 such as to justify his exclusion on the basis that it represented a “genuine, present and sufficiently serious threat affecting one of the fundamental interests of society” under regulation 27(5)(c) of the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2016. Moylan, Stuart-Smith and Snowden LJJ dismissed the SSHD’s appeal and upheld UT Judge Grubb’s decision to allow Mr Okafor’s appeal against the cancellation and refusal of his leave to enter the UK. Mr Okafor was married to a Swedish national who had been granted indefinite leave to remain in the UK in 2019. He was granted entry clearance under the EUSS in July 2020. On his arrival in the UK in September 2020 with an EUSS family permit, he was refused admission on public policy grounds. His permit was revoked and his leave to enter cancelled under paragraph 321B of the Immigration Rules.’

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EIN Blog, 19th February 2024

Source: www.ein.org.uk

Ibrahima Bah: Dinghy pilot guilty over Channel migrant deaths – BBC News

Posted February 20th, 2024 in homicide, immigration, negligence, news, trafficking in human beings by tracey

‘A man who piloted a boat in the English Channel has been found guilty of the manslaughter of four migrants who drowned when it ran into difficulty.’

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BBC News, 19th February 2024

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

‘Scandalous’ if UK watchdog role left empty when Rwanda plan starts, says inspector – The Guardian

‘The UK’s chief inspector of borders and immigration has called it “scandalous” that his watchdog role could be left vacant while the Rwanda scheme is introduced.’

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The Guardian, 19th February 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Woman told to leave UK despite court ruling she has right to live with family – The Guardian

Posted February 16th, 2024 in deportation, families, government departments, immigration, news, visas by sally

‘A woman is facing deportation, and being separated from her husband and 10-year-old son, despite a court ruling that the family have the right to live together in the UK.’

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The Guardian, 15th February 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com