Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project’s Post

❗"The government’s plan to reopen Haslar and Campsfield detention centres is beyond appalling—it’s a betrayal of human dignity" After the horrors uncovered in the Brook House inquiry, how can we stand by while these inhumane practices are expanded? Gee Manoharan, Co-director of AVID, voices the deep concerns we all share:  calls for immediate action to halt this inhumane expansion. If we don’t change course now, we’re heading towards a moral catastrophe. We, along with a coalition of over 50 organisations and a total of 80 individuals, demand a shift towards community-based alternatives that truly uphold our British values of humanity and justice. It's time to listen to those who have survived detention. #EndDetention #HumanRights #ChooseFreedom #KeepCampsfieldClosed #uk #ImmigrationDetention #England #Haslar #LinkedIn https://lnkd.in/erPmrwtw

In the words of our client Michael:⁠ ⁠ “Being tagged is a slow breakdown of a person, feeling free but never really free and not being able to live a normal life in society.⁠ ⁠ When you find out you are going to be released from immigration detention, it is an uplifting moment. Then immigration say you're being placed on tag. ⁠ ⁠ You have served your sentence then been detained under immigration powers, are facing deportation and now on top of all that you have to wear a tag and be monitored 24/7.⁠ ⁠ The criminal justice system says I have paid for my crimes. If I was “British” I would be free to rebuild my life. But because I am not I have to go through all of this even though I have been in the UK since I was a baby and have a child here.⁠ ⁠ Some people who are tagged have come here running from war or persecution. The Home Office knows the horrors they have been through yet they put them in detention centres or place them on tag.⁠ ⁠ They are the victims of war, crime and oppression, yet the Home Office treat them like a threat.⁠ ⁠ It is invisible oppression only seen by the eyes of the tagged.”⁠ ⁠ Show your solidarity. It takes less than 2 minutes to write to your MP using our handy tool and template: https://lnkd.in/ekqVzMSC #HumanRights #Deportation #automaticdeportation #HostileEnvironment #immigrant #poetry #gpstracking

Hostility for Survivors, Impunity for Traffickers: How the Hostile Environment enables Modern Slavery So pleased to be able to share this new report which I have been working on with my colleagues at Hope for Justice and Slave-Free Alliance. We have known for a long time that traffickers use threats of detention and deportation as a means of controlling their victims – sadly, The Safety Rwanda Bill makes the traffickers’ threats a reality. This bill is currently being considered by the House of Lords, as part of the Government's strategy, to restrict the rights of asylum seekers and survivors of modern slavery. The bill creates more barriers for survivors to come forward and receive support, this is not only damaging for those individuals, it hinders the ability of law enforcement to hold the traffickers to account. Survivors hold crucial evidence and testimony for police and prosecutors. If they don’t come forward, traffickers can act with impunity. We’ve released a briefing paper with a ranch of recommendations:  1. undo the conflation of modern slavery and immigration control 2. allow survivors to report exploitation without fear of deportation 3. create safe and legal routes for people to reach the UK without having to rely on criminal networks. Please join us in advocating for greater protection for survivors of modern slavery and others who seek refuge in the UK. Read our briefing paper and contact your local MP and ask them to get in touch with Hope for Justice for more information.

📣 Modern Slavery PEC Policy Impact Manager Victoria Tecca, PhD was quoted yesterday on the latest government National Referral Mechanism (NRM) stats, which show that the system isn't working effectively to protect survivors of modern slavery. More evidence is needed on why more people are choosing not to be referred into the system, she said, but the changes “have taken place against the backdrop of recent immigration legislation that is designed to deny support to modern slavery survivors who arrived in the UK irregularly and remove them from the UK”. “Evidence shows that the new legislation could have a big impact on the willingness of some survivors to come forward and be formally identified or support criminal prosecutions, strengthening the hand of traffickers.” https://lnkd.in/eESqtFh2 #modernslavery #immigration

Check out our #report, "Preventing Family Separations & Detention in the U.S. Immigration System." as we discuss steps that can be taken to protect #childhealth, #safety, & #wellbeing for the many affected #children. Read the full report HERE: https://lnkd.in/g9KArv2r

Check out our #report, "Preventing Family Separations & Detention in the U.S. Immigration System." as we discuss steps that can be taken to protect #childhealth, #safety, & #wellbeing for the many affected #children. Read the full report HERE: https://lnkd.in/g9KArv2r

A recent High Court decision critical of persons claiming to be refugees who attempt to manipulate the system for their own ends may be an initial signal to a change in attitude to the way in which our legal system will deal with migration cases in the future. #migrationaustralia #asf17 #highcourtofaustralia #migrationlawyer

Explore the deep-rooted history of detention and family separation in the U.S. with Ana Raquel Minian on ABA Journal's Modern Law Library: https://lnkd.in/gst-MwuG Ana explains: 1️⃣ How immigration has changed 2️⃣ Parole vs. detention 3️⃣ How attorneys can help detained immigrants

BREAKING NEWS: The UN Subcommittee for Prevention of Torture has released its report on the terminated visit to Australia made last year. The report makes wide-ranging observations and recommendations including the enactment of federal legislation to underpin the OPCAT and the functions and independence of the National Preventive Mechanism (NPM). The report also makes other recommendations ranging from raising the minimum age of criminal responsibility, ceasing mandatory immigration detention, completely banning the use of spit hoods and routine strip searches. The report additionally outlines the open hostility the SPT faced by several Commonwealth, State and Territory authorities and the complete misunderstanding of the OPCAT obligations and the visits purpose by those authorities. The Australian Governments response to the report has also been made public. The Government rejects the call for overarching legislation and provides huge amounts of information and policy positions but does not articulate any meaningful commitment to implementing the SPT's recommendations. Interestingly, the Disability Royal Commission also recommended OPCAT and the NPM be underpinned by federal legislation. The Attorney-General is aware of this and a recent Senate Estimates QoN states he's been briefed on those recommendations. The Government will have to respond again to this call for action in March 2024. The UN SPT's report and the Government response can both be found here: https://lnkd.in/gadrj3W4

It is a very poor reflection on Australian Governments (at both State and Federal levels) that they resist scrutiny of whether or not they are compliant with fundamental human rights standards which the Australian Government has agreed are rights which should be accorded to all persons when it signed and ratified human rights treaties, including the Convention Against Torture and the Protocol for giving effect to it, which was what the UN Subcommittee was acting in accordance with when it visited Australia. It was unable to complete its its function in Australia because of the resistence to it doing so by some Australian States. That resistance was contrary to what Australia had agreed to in accordance with international law. It exhibited a very shallow level of how a Government should behave as a mature democracy acting in accordance with the rule of law. It also exhibited an over-sensitivity to the possibility of being publicly criticised for any failure to comply with the Convention Against Torture, which is the only negative impact which an inspection and report by the UN Subcommittee for the Prevention of Torture could have resulted in. A mature democratic Government ought to be open to such inspections and reports.