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Further representations and fresh claims: call for evidence, and new toolkit section

documents

NCADC is concerned about the very high rejection rates when individuals submit further representations after a refusal of their asylum or human rights applications. The rejection letters from UKBA will say that the further representations do not meet the legal test of paragraph 353 of the immigration rules and therefore do not constitute a fresh [...]

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Detention Action: Detained Fast Track denies access to justice

FTTD

Kate from Detention Action writes on the release of the Chief Inspectorate’s report into the Detained Fast Track system: The Chief Inspector of the UK Border Agency’s investigation into the Detained Fast Track asylum process, published today, finds ample evidence of the dysfunctions of the Fast Track. Yet the Chief Inspector, John Vine, fails to draw [...]

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Gladys Mabvira: finally freed today after 6 months in Yarls Wood, she tells of the injustices experienced there

Gladys Mabvira: finally freed today after 6 months in Yarls Wood, she tells of the injustices experienced there

Gladys Mabvira is an opposition activist from Zimbabwe.  Despite the enormous risks she would face if returned to Zimbabwe, she has time and again been issued with removal directions by the Home Office.  Only her strength in adversity and last minute legal actions kept Gladys with us here in the UK.   She has this morning [...]

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Fahamu Refugee Legal Aid Newsletter: essential reading

fahamu

The Fahamu Refugee Legal Aid Newsletter is a monthly forum for news and reflection on the provision of refugee legal aid. Focusing on the global south, it provides a unique range of news stories, organisation profiles, and legal explanations to assist those providing free legal advice on asylum, refugee and human rights cases across the [...]

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Border hostilities: Passport to the media-policy merry-go-round

Border hostilities: Passport to the media-policy merry-go-round

You have most probably heard about the latest scandal at the Home Office. Basically it was about a pilot scheme to replace the blanket checks on passports of people visiting the UK with a more targeted approach, and whether the Home Secretary knew the extent to which this was being implemented by her Border Force [...]

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Foreign National Prisoners: an easy media target

Foreign National Prisoners: an easy media target

John Vine. Last week saw the publication of John Vine’s report on how the UK Border Agency ‘manage’ foreign national prisoners.  The UKBA’s Independent Chief Inspector commented on the improvement in UKBA’s monitoring of foreign national prisoners (following the 2006 ‘foreign prisoners fiasco‘), but has some clear criticisms of UKBA’s decision making, particularly in the [...]

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Asylum seekers and Europe: the Conservative government’s pet hates

UKBA

The Immigration Minister, Damien Green, yesterday announced that the UK will not be opting into the the two EU asylum directives. This will hardly come as a surprise from a government not known for its cosiness with Europe, and seemingly determined to issue new hate-speech against immigrants on a daily basis, but the justifications given [...]

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Cats, lies, and family ties: human rights and wrongs at Tory Party conference

A cat

In an ongoing crusade to remove the “universal” bit from the concept of human rights, the Conservative Home Secretary Theresa May  has announced plans to deport more migrants who have completed prison sentences, even if it means breaking up families. Home Secretary Theresa May But first, a suspect cat incident. In her speech at the [...]

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Refugees prevented from lodging asylum claims in UK

Lunar House

Lunar House in Croydon The Guardian reports today on a strongly worded letter from the Law Society to the UK Border Agency and the UN refugee agency, protesting the broken system that is stopping refugees from submitting claims for asylum. The letter, sent to the head of the Asylum Screening Unit (ASU) and the United [...]

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Women’s Asylum News

Women's Asylum News

The August/September edition of Women’s Asylum News is now available to download from  the Asylum Aid website. The lead article in this month’s issue covers the latest report by the Asylum Support Appeals Project (ASAP) which considers barriers to asylum support appeals for women and has been written by Gerry Hickey, Legal Adviser at ASAP. [...]

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