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Jan 30, 2012
10 Comment(s)
This weekend the immigration minister gave an interview which hinted at major policy measures to be announced this week. Unfortunately the indications are that pessimism is winning in the immigration policy arena...
Yesterday's papers brought the news, based on a Sunday Times interview by immigration minister Damian Green, that this week we can finally expect the government's policy announcement on reforms to the rules affecting skilled workers and family members coming to the UK. If the media is to be believed, this is likely to be a double-whammy – with the outcomes of two major government consultations combined into one policy announcement.
Yesterday's papers brought the news, based on a Sunday Times interview by immigration minister Damian Green, that this week we can finally expect the government's policy announcement on reforms to the rules affecting skilled workers and family members coming to the UK. If the media is to be believed, this is likely to be a double-whammy – with the outcomes of two major government consultations combined into one policy announcement.
Jan 3, 2012
7 Comment(s)
The start of a fresh New Year is a time for making predictions as well as resolutions. Resolutions are a bit personal, but predictions aren’t worth much unless you have the nerve to state them openly. So here’s my take on what challenges are in store for the world of immigration in 2012.....
Firstly, the coming year will be the last chance the coalition government has to declare itself fully in control of movements across borders, before its narrative breaks down in 2013 and following years. Home Secretary Teresa May will continue to work hard to offer raw red meat to the backbenchers of her own party with evidence that security at air and sea ports and the Eurostar stations is tight. This will be achieved at the cost of long delays and enormous queues, as we saw at Heathrow last summer, with tourists suffering in their thousands as they struggle to clear passport checks.
Firstly, the coming year will be the last chance the coalition government has to declare itself fully in control of movements across borders, before its narrative breaks down in 2013 and following years. Home Secretary Teresa May will continue to work hard to offer raw red meat to the backbenchers of her own party with evidence that security at air and sea ports and the Eurostar stations is tight. This will be achieved at the cost of long delays and enormous queues, as we saw at Heathrow last summer, with tourists suffering in their thousands as they struggle to clear passport checks.
Dec 19, 2011
10 Comment(s)
Migrant communities weren't expecting the kick in the teeth they have got from the recent High Court ruling on the issue of family reunion rights. With more plans to restrict these further down the line, expect things to get a whole lot worse.
The unwelcome irony of last week’s announcement in the High Court of the ruling in the case of Chapti & Ors is that it came out just two days before the world is supposed to celebrate International Migrants Day (IMD). This is a time when we are expected to acknowledge what the experience of being a migrant means in today’s world, and how better recognition of human rights would ease passage into society's mainstream. But this ruling means that a crucial element in achieving this goal has just got a lot harder.
The unwelcome irony of last week’s announcement in the High Court of the ruling in the case of Chapti & Ors is that it came out just two days before the world is supposed to celebrate International Migrants Day (IMD). This is a time when we are expected to acknowledge what the experience of being a migrant means in today’s world, and how better recognition of human rights would ease passage into society's mainstream. But this ruling means that a crucial element in achieving this goal has just got a lot harder.
Oct 17, 2011
7 Comment(s)
The BBC2 documentary series ‘Mixed Britannia’ set out to show how ethnic diversity has become such a central feature of social life in the UK. In last week’s episode it also revealed a terrible secret which shows that the discretion of governments needs to be constrained by a strong commitment to human rights when they deal with immigration matters.
Liverpool is the town I was grew up in, so anecdotes about the role immigration has played in the history of this port city have always, literally, been close to home for me. George Alagiah's presentation in his ‘Mixed Britannia’ documentary of this particular story struck me with some force for all these reasons.
Liverpool is the town I was grew up in, so anecdotes about the role immigration has played in the history of this port city have always, literally, been close to home for me. George Alagiah's presentation in his ‘Mixed Britannia’ documentary of this particular story struck me with some force for all these reasons.
Oct 13, 2011
20 Comment(s)
Ministers are spinning their setback in the courts yesterday as a setback for the “legitimate aim” of combating forced marriage. Nonsense. Their attempt to nullify the right to family life for people in the 18-21 age group conflicted with the evidence of best practice on how we should really be combating this scourge
There should be no doubt about it – forced marriage is itself an attack on the basic human rights of people coerced into an unwonted marital relationship. Strategies need to be devised which come to the aid of victims of this pernicious practice in ways which are genuinely supportive of their needs. The question is, did the last Labour government provide us with the means to fight forced marriage when it visa bans on the non-EU partners of marriages when at least one was under the age of 21? Some 5000 young families have had the early years of their married lives severely disrupted by the imposition of this measure, in circumstances when even visa officials concede that there are no grounds for believing that anyone has been forced into a marriage to which they do not want to be a part.
There should be no doubt about it – forced marriage is itself an attack on the basic human rights of people coerced into an unwonted marital relationship. Strategies need to be devised which come to the aid of victims of this pernicious practice in ways which are genuinely supportive of their needs. The question is, did the last Labour government provide us with the means to fight forced marriage when it visa bans on the non-EU partners of marriages when at least one was under the age of 21? Some 5000 young families have had the early years of their married lives severely disrupted by the imposition of this measure, in circumstances when even visa officials concede that there are no grounds for believing that anyone has been forced into a marriage to which they do not want to be a part.
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