Immigration news

Despite the DACA US immigration program recently reopening to new applicants following a court order, the Obama-era scheme recently faced a fresh legal challenge in Texas. A federal court in the state’s capital, Houston, is considering whether to invalidate the program, which could cause problems for the Biden administration if passed.

 

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) tried to subpoena BuzzFeed News in an effort to force the media outlet to disclose its sources. A report published by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), states that BuzzFeed News refused to comply with the subpoena with ICE saying it will not enforce the summons and has since withdrawn the subpoena.

 

However, ICE has said that it will pursue its investigation ‘through other channels.’ The CPJ has urged ICE not to take legal action against news outlets. 

The family of Hubert Howard, a Windrush man who was refused UK citizenship because of the ‘good character requirement’, is suing the Home Office. The family of Mr Howard, who was granted citizenship three weeks prior to his death in 2019, are suing on the grounds that the good character requirement is racially discriminatory.

Mr Howard was still fighting for UK citizenship status as he lay dying in a hospital intensive care unit, prompting a High Court hearing into the Windrush man’s case.

 

The Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI) has called for the Home Office’s hostile UK immigration policy to be ‘abolished entirely’. The JCWI said its unacceptable that people are harassed and mistreated because of their ethnicity, nationality or UK immigration status.

 

A conference arranged by the JCWI called for a ‘levelling up of migrant rights’ as the UK struggles to recover from the impact of COVID-19. 

Immigrant ICE leader, Tony Pham, is set to resign from his post after just five months in the role. Pham, a refugee from Vietnam, was seen as a controversial appointment to lead ICE, particularly among the Vietnamese community in the USA. Pham was appointed to the post in July, following the departure of Matt Albence.

 

The architect of the Windrush compensation scheme has slammed the Home Office over its handling of pay-outs. Martin Forde is the latest to blast the Home Office for its handling of the scheme following comments made by Wendy Williams – author of a report into the Windrush scandal – who expressed her dismay at how slow pay-outs were progressing.  

Workpermit.com recently reported that since the launch of the Windrush compensation scheme, only 12% of people have received a payout.