Free Movement Weekly Immigration Newsletter #68

Welcome to the weekly Free Movement newsletter!

The government’s long awaited (and dreaded?) white paper on immigration has been published today, following a weekend of some fairly grim language from ministers, including the PM (I think the “lab” analogy in particular was vile). Solidarity with all of my fellow migrants who have had to listen to all of this and who are feeling particularly unwelcome here at the moment. 

There was also a flurry of press releases yesterday, on care workers, foreign criminals, and skilled workers and a statement from the PM published ahead of a press conference that took place this morning. So there were not too many surprises in the actual paper. Stay tuned for more in depth Free Movement coverage and analysis. 

In other news, a judicial review challenging the recent changes to the good character guidance for citizenship has been lodged.

On the blog, the latest podcast is out, I took a detailed look at the government’s amendments to the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill (which has its report stage today because not enough is happening). 

There were a couple of cases, including this one where the Home Secretary did not have a very good day in the Upper Tribunal and this Court of Appeal decision on the deportation of a German national.

For everything else on Free Movement and elsewhere, read on.

Cheers, Sonia

What we’re reading

Report: The Home Office’s asylum accommodation contracts – National Audit Office, 7 May

Analysis of Home Office Change of Conditions Data – Q4 2024 – The Unity Project, 8 May

Safety and Survival: How the Work Ban Fuels Violence Against Women Seeking Asylum – Women for Refugee Women, 7 May

Judge flags lawyers to regulators after five fake cases cited – Law Gazette, 7 May

Student visa crackdown will make funding crisis worse, says Universities UK – The Guardian, 6 May

Care homes under threat as family visa crackdown blocks 100,000 workers – Independent, 6 May

Rwanda says talks underway with US to host deported migrants – The Guardian, 6 May

Threading the needle: prospects for the imminent immigration white paper – IPPR, 6 May