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
Home Office Consultation: Family Returns
On 5 March 2026, the Home Office released a consultation entitled Family Returns: Reforming Asylum Support and Enforcing Family Returns. Here is the consultation document. These are deeply concerning proposals which would do significant harm to children, families, adults and care leavers. They seek to remove local authority’s ability to support families and young people, and risk exposing children and adults to homelessness. They restrict access to support for people who have been refused asylum and reduce the right to appeal refusals of support. They also pave the way for children to be handcuffed and removed by immigration enforcement.
Therefore, we need as many organisations as possible to respond to the consultation. The deadline is May 28th. We are currently finalising a question-by-question guide for Part 1, and will be sending it out in a separate email.
In the meantime, here are some other guides/overview documents you can read to understand more:
- Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit guide
- NRPF Network overview aimed at local authorities
- Refugee Council Briefing Note for Sector Responses
- ASAP overview of proposed changes
Children’s Rights Under Attack
More than 140 organisations including social workers, lawyers and children’s charities have united to condemn a “sustained attack on children’s rights” in recent migration policy, including earned settlement, family returns plans, the end to family reunion and changes to asylum support. The letter was covered by The Mirror, The Independent, and you can also read more on our website. We were pleased to engage some fantastic organisations outside the refugee and migrants’ rights sector, alongside our valued sector partners, in this letter, in an effort to show Government that harm to children will not be ignored, and boost understanding outside of our sector of the ongoing threats to migrant children.
Take action
- Keep raising the alarm about the rights of children, babies and care leavers. Share the story, or use/adapt our unbranded social media assets, which you can find here (Instagram) and here (X/Bluesky).
Lift the Ban goes to parliament
On Monday 27 April, the Lift the Ban Coalition and the APPG on Migration held a parliamentary roundtable event chaired by Lord Marvin Rees at the House of Lords on the benefits of granting the right to work for people seeking asylum. Peers and MPs heard powerful testimonies from people with lived experience about the reality of being forced to survive on just £7 per day, unable to work and struggling to meet basic needs, as well as from policy experts and coalition partners such as the TUC who highlighted that these policies don’t just keep people in poverty, they can push people into unsafe and exploitative situations.
Take Action:
- Use these resources to urge your local MP, local Council, local trade union branch, local chamber of commerce or local businesses to back the campaign
- Join over 300 organisations across the UK in becoming members of the Lift the Ban coalition here, or to just sign up for campaign updates click here and tick ‘Lift the Ban’
Communities Not Camps
The Government has confirmed 350 people are now placed in the ex-military camp in Crowborough, East Sussex. Meanwhile, permission has been granted for a judicial review about the use of the camp, focusing on planning law, environmental compliance, transparency and fairness.
Take Action: Military sites are never suitable places to house people seeking safety. Take action to close the camps and write to your MP here.
Greater Manchester Asylum Hotels Group – “Our vision of how people should be housed whilst waiting for an asylum decision”
This group, made up of people with experience of living in asylum hotels and other forms of asylum accommodation in Greater Manchester, has published their vision of how people should be housed whilst waiting for an asylum decision. The group has previously issued statements responding to the protests outside hotels, and on how the Government’s planned changes to asylum and settlement make them feel. They say “We are not looking for luxury – but every human being needs a basic space they can call home, where they can live with dignity.” Read and share on Instagram, Bluesky and LinkedIn.
Violence Against Women and Girls
The disturbing scenes in Epsom over the past weeks have again highlighted how concern about violence against women and girls continues to be weaponised to promote an anti-migrant agenda – putting women, especially migrant women and survivors, at risk.
Take action
- Share the communications guide Not in our Name: A practical guide – How to talk about the weaponisation of violence against women and girls
Call for Action – Email your MP, Support Syrians Trapped Under ILR scheme
The Syrian British Consortium have put out a call to action for people to email their MPs in support of Syrians waiting for decisions on settlement after completing five years of refugee leave now suffering prolonged uncertainty, repeated requests for evidence and in some cases lengthy interviews on whether Syria is now supposedly safe for return.
Take action: email your MP today in support of Syrian refugees suffering prolonged uncertainty, whose lives have been placed on hold.
What the BBC investigation didn’t tell you – and what you can do about it
Over 100 organisations have signed this statement coordinated by Rainbow Migration in the wake of three reports by the BBC on 15 April (here and here) and 16 April (here) which presented cases of fraudulent immigration advice as evidence of systemic fraud in the asylum and immigration system. In the wake of this sensationalist reporting, Migrants Organise have produced a guide to the complaints process for those who wish to make a complaint.
Law Society denounces proposed new appeals body
The Law Society has issued a statement calling on the Home Office to drop plans for the replacement of the first tier tribunal with a lay appeals body staffed by people without professional legal qualifications, instead calling on Government to get decisions right first time. The Government is currently running a call for evidence on its proposals
2. Government and Parliamentary updates
UK France agreement on Channel crossings
The Government has concluded a three year agreement with France for further securitisation of the border. £662 million is to be invested in measures including a 53% increase in personnel on the ground, administrative detention centre in Dunkirk and increased surveillance facilities. Meanwhile, 116 people were rescued by the French coastguard as people remain forced to make the journey in the absence of safe routes, with charities warning that securitisation leads to increased risk and more fatalities.
‘Independent Appeals Body’ Call for Evidence deadline extension
The deadline has been extended from 22 April to 6 May 2026. The Call for Evidence is aimed at those with expertise of the UK immigration and asylum appeals system, and other stakeholders, and invites experts to share evidence from practice and experience on what works well and where challenges arise, to highlight operational risks or potential unintended consequences and provide insights. More info here. Right to Remain have written a blog about What we know so far about the proposed Independent Appeals Body
HM Chief Inspector of Prisons Report into ‘One in, One Out’
This is the second inspection report of a removal journey to France under the ‘one in one out’ scheme. The biggest concern remains the access to interpreting services, which was raised in the first report but has still not been addressed. Only a few of those being transferred understood basic English, leaving people to interpret for one another.
House of Lords debate on Temporary Leave changes
The House of Lords debated a motion to regret regarding the move to the temporary protection model for refugees. It was criticised for placing further strain on the asylum system, increasing costs for the taxpayer, and undermining integration and Home Office efficiency. You can read the debate here.
3. Reports and research
Locked Out and Locked Up – Experiences of asylum policy and systemic racism in the UK and Northern France
Refugee Action’s new report, ‘Locked Out and Locked Up: Experiences of Asylum Policy and Systemic Racism in the UK and Northern France’, is the result of a year-long research project, co-led by a researcher with lived experience of asylum, which included interviews with 32 people seeking safety – from the UK’s asylum hotels to the living sites around Calais in northern France. Download it here.
Refugee Action Insight Hub survey – When systems fail – the impact on migration services and communities.
Organisations across the sector have been facing increasing challenges, with growing pressures on services and communities, while continuing to show resilience and adaptability in response. There is an urgent need to better understand what is happening on the ground. With a focus on lived experience, this survey aims to bring those perspectives together to help identify where pressures may be most acute, explore how organisations are adapting, and contribute to a stronger, practice-based evidence base to inform funding, advocacy, and decision-making. This survey is aimed at all organisations in the UK refugee and migration sector with a focus on organisations providing frontline support and advice. Survey link. Deadline 5th May
SOAS x JRS UK report launch – Disabled by Design: The Human Impact of the Hostile Environment on People Seeking Asylum.
The online launch is on Thursday, 14th May at 6pm. This intersectional research brings disability rights into conversation with the experiences of people who have been refused asylum. It exposes how the Hostile Environment creates and deepens disability, with profound and lasting impacts on people’s lives. The report is highly relevant at a time when the government is actively extending the Hostile Environment and further weaponising destitution as a means of immigration control.This event is co‑hosted by the Centre for Human Rights Law at SOAS and Jesuit Refugee Service UK. Sign up to attend the webinar. The report will be available on the JRS UK website following the webinar.
4. Resources, events, jobs and training
City of Sanctuary – Election Solidarity Posters
As elections approach, there free posters, which you can download here, are aimed at showing local candidates that people believe in building welcoming communities where people seeking sanctuary are valued and respected as neighbours and friends.
Refugee Week Film Festival
This year’s programme features two feature-length films and five short films from all around the world exploring themes of displacement, courage, and community.
You can explore the full programme here. To support you in hosting a screening, they have pulled together a range of helpful resources:
- FAQs: https://refugeeweek.org/take-part/film-festival/
- Refugee Week Film Pack (including discussion prompts, promotional materials, and hosting tips): https://refugeeweek.org/take-part/film-festival/
- Refugee Week Resources (social media toolkit, marketing assets, logos, and more): https://refugeeweek.org/take-part/resources/
Asylos Online Seminar on Human Trafficking in Vietnam –
This session; Vietnam: Country of Origin Information on Human Trafficking, Vulnerabilities, and Protection brings together perspectives from academic research and country of origin information (COI) practice to explore the issue of human trafficking in Vietnam. Its on Thursday, 30 April 2026, from 3:00–4:00pm. Sign up here
Million Acts of Hope toolkit
This toolkit was created in partnership with City of Sanctuary UK, IMIX, NACCOM, Refugee Week and Together with Refugees. You’ll find simple ideas, templates and materials to help show that there is more that unites us than divides us – all for A Million Acts of Hope week from 13 to 20 May 2026.
ATLEU’s online training programme
Anti trafficking and Labour Exploitation Unit have announced their training programme for 2026 for those advising and supporting survivors of trafficking and modern slavery. Between May and October, they will be hosting a wide range of training sessions for legal advisors, solicitors and barristers and the different support professionals who work with survivors of trafficking and slavery or who are interested in working in this area.For details on all the sessions and how to book visit https://www.atleu.org.uk/training
Workshop: Introduction to the Right to Remain Toolkit, 20 May, on Zoom
These sessions are designed to give you and your group confidence in using the Toolkit yourselves and to pass that knowledge on to others you support in an empowering way. Register here.
Jobs:
- Project 17 is recruiting two advisors to provide advice and advocacy for people with no recourse to public funds. Deadline 25 May
- Herts Welcomes Refugees is recruiting for a part time Administrative Assistant. Deadline 17 May
- One Strong Voice is recruiting for a Consultant to develop an advocacy strategy. Deadline 10 May
- Sheffield City of Sanctuary are recruiting for a Deputy Director. Deadline 1 May.
- Suffolk Refugee Support are recruiting an Operations Manager and Employment and Training Coordinator – deadline 7 May
- GARAS is recruiting for an Advice and Support Worker (1 year fixed term contract), based in Gloucester.
5. What we’re reading, watching and listening to
- Home Secretary’s earned settlement proposals are expected to save a fraction of what was initially claimed.
- This fantastic and important piece by our friends and colleagues at Latin American Women’s Rights Service and Hibiscus about the anti-migrant movement hiding behind the guise of women’s rights.
- Six people are challenging deportations under the UK-France migration deal, claiming that guidance changes introduced last September unlawfully stripped them of the right to seek a UK review of rejected trafficking claims before being removed.
- Some foreign nationals face up to 30 years in visa limbo under Shabana Mahmood’s changes to settlement
