Newsletter archive

A new report examines the lives of migrants who have come to the United Kingdom from Central and Eastern Europe before and after the European Union expansion in 2004. It focused on lifestyles of migrants primarily in construction and agriculture, as well as those working as au pairs. The study tried to determine how much societal information migrants managed to obtain, details of their accommodation, leisure activities, social relationships, and their long-term plans. Many migrants did not have some important information on how to access basic services and on their labor rights.

On June 14th & 15th, there will be a judicial review by the High Court of the United Kingdom regarding changes to British immigration law that were applied retrospectively. The Court will specifically examine a change that means that people will have to reside in Britain for five years instead of four to gain Indefinite Leave to Remain. 

The Shadow Immigration Minister for the United Kingdom, Damian Green, has asked the British government to suspend changes to the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme that were put into effect last year. Mr. Green sharply criticized the retrospective application of the changes to people who qualified for the HSMP visa under the old rules. 

A proposed amendment to the United Kingdom's Borders Bill is intended "to keep children safe from harm." Liam Byrne announced that the Code of Practice "will provide a robust and transparent basis" to help keep children safe who are caught up in Border & Immigration Agency (BIA) actions. Official policy currently allows force to be used on children if it 'can be argued' that the "safety of the child or others would have been endangered had restraint not been used." It also permits taking migrant children from their schools in order to detain them with their families.