1. Advocacy and campaigning initiatives
2. Government and Parliamentary updates
3. Reports and research
4. Resources, events, jobs and training
5. What we’re reading, watching and listening to
1. Advocacy and campaigning initiatives
Mass lobby of Parliament on 11 March to challenge “earned settlement” proposals
The NRPF Partnership, led by Praxis and Citizens UK, are organising a mass lobby of MPs on the 11th March 12.30pm-4.00pm to challenge the new proposed ‘earned settlement’ changes. The lobby will bring together migrants’ rights organisations, community leaders, unions, faith groups and allies, with the aim of meeting MPs at the same time, in the same place to show the depth and breadth of concern and make this issue impossible to ignore.
- TAKE ACTION: Sign up here to learn more and help shape this collective action.
Refugee-led petition on settlement changes
More than 13,000 people have now signed a petition, drafted by a group of West Midlands refugees we’ve been working with. They’ve written about the terrifying impact of the proposed changes to migration rules, with a particular focus on settlement and family reunion, in a public petition calling for an end to the earned settlement proposals. We’d be hugely grateful for any help sharing this with your networks, on social media, and of course you can sign it too! Here’s a message direct from a refugee, who is one of the 13,000+ people who’ve signed so far. Just like the group who started this petition, he’s facing the nightmare of losing the safety that refugee status was meant to bring – but knowing that so many of you are fighting for refugee rights means so much:
“It feels like being trapped in a perpetual state of uncertainty, sentenced to decades of limbo despite having fled genuine danger and persecution.
What makes this even more painful is that refugee protection is meant to be dependable and honest, a reflection of humanity’s best instincts toward those in need.
The retrospective application is particularly unfair. Changing the rules for people who applied on the current system is like a betrayal and a stab in the back.
Thank you again for your dedication and drive. Please keep pushing forward; these changes threaten the stability and future of so many recent refugees in the UK.”
- TAKE ACTION: Sign and share the petition here: Don’t leave refugees in limbo: Scrap the 20-year wait | 38 Degrees
Resources on the Government consultation on ‘earned settlement’
Our friends at Reunite Families, MRN, Migrant Voice, ILPA and others have developed this brilliant guide to help those wanting to respond to the current government consultation on earned settlement. The document explains section by section and covers the important issues to consider in each aspect. Our friends at GMIAU have also produced a useful guide on the consultation.
- TAKE ACTION:
- Guide by Reunite Families and others here, guide by GMIAU here
- Use this tool produced by Praxis to write to your MP and urge them to oppose these attacks on settlement
- Use this tool produced by Work Rights Centre to write to your MP and urge them to oppose plans to restrict settlement
Call on your local council to fight the new anti-refugee laws and policies
The radical overhaul of the UK’s refugee protection system announced by the Home Secretary in late 2025 represent a swathe of new hostile anti-refugee laws and measures. In recent years, many local authorities have been at the forefront of the fightback against anti-refugee policies emanating from Westminster – and their support is more vital than ever in 2026. Campaigners, organisations and members of the public are encouraged to write to their Local Councillors and ask them to join the fightback.
- TAKE ACTION:
- Guide on how to ask your local councils to fight the new anti-refugee laws here
- Template letter to ask your local councillors to the fight the new anti-refugee laws here
- Fight the new anti-refugee laws template motion for councils to pass here and follow-up template motion for previously committed councils to pass here
Urge your MP to sign EDM 2486 on border violence
Following the parliamentary reception we teamed up with Humans for Rights Network and Nadia Whittome MP to organise in December on border violence, we need to keep parliamentary momentum and attention on the harms of UK taxpayer-funded border violence and the deaths it is driving by securing more signatures to EDM 2486.
- TAKE ACTION: Write to your MP with this easy letter-writing tool to urge them to support the motion on border violence.
Ask your local council to support lifting the ban
Following Lift the Ban’s efforts to amend the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act last year, which led to a range of parliamentarians pointing out to Government that the work ban makes no sense, we need local councils across the UK to add to the growing body of voices calling for the ban to be lifted.
- TAKE ACTION:
- Use this guide and template letter to ask your local councillor for support
- Ask your local councillor to join others around the country who have tabled this template motion on lifting the ban
Communities Not Camps
Uncertainty and controversy continue around Government plans to operationalise camps at Crowborough training camp in East Sussex and Cameron Barracks in Inverness, with press reporting that ‘no final decision’ has been made on their use, and councillors expressing ‘dismay’ at ‘a lack of communication and information’. Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee sought assurances this week from the Home Office that in its plans ‘industrial levels of waste of taxpayers money’ would not be repeated (here from 1623).
- TAKE ACTION:
Write to your MP to tell them that people seeking asylum should be housed in communities, not camps and never in expensive, wasteful ex-military sites.
2. Government and Parliamentary updates
Government consultation on ‘earned settlement’ closes 12th February
Link to fill out Government consultation by 12th February is here and a downloadable word document with all consultation questions can be found here.
House of Lords Justice & Home Affairs Select Committee Inquiry into settlement, citizenship and integration open for evidence until 23rd January
The House of Lords Justice and Home Affairs Committee is running an inquiry into settlement, citizenship, and integration, along with an accompanying call for evidence to inform its work. Written submissions as part of their call for evidence are requested by 23 January 2026. You can make submissions here.
Public Accounts Committee session on the asylum system
The Public Accounts Committee took evidence on 19th January from officials across Government on a ‘whole system approach’ to the asylum system, including on decision making, asylum appeals, asylum accommodation, Home Office data, work with local authorities (including homelessness impacts), the envisaged reforms and costs. The session was informed by the National Audit Office’s recent analysis of the system. You can watch it here.
Home Affairs Committee inquiry on routes to settlement: oral evidence session
The House of Commons’ Home Affairs Committee will be holding an oral evidence session on the 21st January as part of its inquiry into routes to settlement.
3. Reports and research
UNHCR legal observations on Government’s ‘Restoring Order and Control’ Asylum Policy Paper
UNHCR have published legal observations in response to the UK Government’s policy paper ‘Restoring Order and Control: A statement on the government’s asylum and returns policy’ published in November 2025. Noting that there will be further details announced in relation to these changes, these comments consider the Government’s proposals as set out in the asylum policy statement and offer initial observations to inform consideration and discussions around asylum reform in the UK. Find them here.
4. Resources, events, jobs and training
Right to Remain ‘Knowledge is Power: Detention and Enforcement’ workshop
This session on Wednesday 11 February 2026, 10am – 1pm responds directly to the sharp rise in immigration raids, arrests, and detention across the UK, and the growing need for communities to have clear and practical information to protect themselves and each other. Register here. You can also express interest in Right to Remain’s upcoming national gatherings here.
STAR Information Session for applicants applying to Sanctuary Scholarships
Hosted by Student Action for Refugees (STAR), with support from university staff, students and graduates, this free, online information session is for people from refugee and asylum seeking backgrounds who are in the UK and interested in applying for a scholarship to fund their university studies. It will take place on Thursday 22 January, 5-7pm. Applicants can sign up for free here.
Refugee Week 2026 Conference
The Refugee Week conference is for anyone who is interested in taking part in Refugee Week, the world’s largest arts & culture festival celebrating the contributions, resilience and creativity of refugees. The Refugee Week 2026 Conference is taking place online on February 25th 10.30am-1.00pm. Register to attend the conference here. The conference will be followed by an optional Q&A and an opportunity to network. Please sign up for this session separately here.
A Grain of Sand – a new play set in Gaza by Good Chance Theatre
Good Chance Theatre’s new production, A Grain of Sand, starts next week in London, before heading on to Leeds, Mold, Canterbury, Bristol, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Plymouth, Oxford, Coventry and Manchester. This one-woman show tells the story of Renad, an 11-year-old Gazan girl, as she embarks on a dangerous journey in search of her family, carrying only the echoes of her grandmother’s tales and the spark of her own imagination. Blending Palestinian folklore with real testimonies from children in Gaza, this story is one of resilience, hope and the right of children to be children. Help spread the word with these Instagram posts for re-sharing or contact [email protected] for a promo pack to help amplify this work.
Wales Nation of Sanctuary Awards 2026 – nominations open
The nominations for the Wales Nation of Sanctuary Awards 2026 are now open. Who you can nominate: Anyone making a positive difference in the sanctuary-seeking or refugee sector in Wales, including local community heroes, volunteers, artists, athletes or youth leaders, entrepreneurs creating opportunities, organisations building safe, welcoming spaces, or groups strengthening communities. Nominating someone takes just a few minutes with this nomination form.
SMK National Campaigner Awards 2026 – nominations open
Each year, SMK celebrates the best campaigns and campaigners. Their interest is in finding those who have made change happen – most effectively, creatively, and courageously. Nominations are open until 6 February 2026. Criteria here and nomination form here.
Jobs and opportunities:
- African Rainbow Family are recruiting for an Operations Manager. Deadline ongoing.
- Northampton Town of Sanctuary are recruiting for a Manager. Deadline 26 January.
- Right to Remain are recruiting for a Legal Education Officer. Deadline 2 February.
- Right to Remain are also recruiting for their Management Committee, up to three Trustee roles including a Treasurer.
5. What we’re reading, watching and listening to
- This op-ed in The Guardian by outgoing Refugee Council Chief Executive Enver Solomon
- This piece in Big Issue by Dr Ala Sirriyeh imagining Santa Claus as an asylum seeker
- This report on the failures revealed at Derwentside IRC, the UK’s only female-only migration detention centre, by prison inspectors. It’s yet more proof that Derwentside IRC is cruel, isolating and completely unnecessary – and must close.
- This ITV News interview with Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham, where he warns the fast move-on period for newly recognised refugees is driving homelessness
