Remarkably honest response to Freedom Information Request for Home Office training materials on the immigration law changes taking effect on 28 July 2014: The withheld training documents contain lines to take, which could assist a foreign criminal’s representatives
Some information about the shadowy Upper Tribunal Reporting Committee shared with me by the indefatigable Shoaib Khan, obtained through a Freedom of Information request: The
On 20 November 2014, the National Audit Office – the independent Parliamentary body responsible for scrutinising the way in which the government spends public money
Have you forgotten yet?… For the world’s events have rumbled on since those gagged days, Like traffic checked while at the crossing of city-ways: And
Following the death at Heathrow Airport in October 2010 of Jimmy Mubenga during the course of his deportation this week saw the start of a
Gail Elliman was first and foremost a fantastically warm, funny and compassionate human being. She was also a socialist, a feminist, a lawyer, a trainer,
The clue is in the word “illegal”, David. There are a very wide range of criminal offences covering all types of, er, illegal behaviour. Not
This from Channel 4 News about the collapse of a huge “sham marriage” criminal trial: But, when immigration officers were questioned in the witness box, it
The National Audit Office has published a damning report on the UK’s deportation process today. The numbers of foreign criminals deported have actually declined since
“But the plans were on display…” “On display? I eventually had to go down to the cellar to find them.” “That’s the display department.” “With
So Banksy’s new immigration themed mural in Clacton — where Douglas Carswell has resigned as Conservative MP to stand in a by election for UKIP
Interesting reports from a meeting on gender and refugee law tonight: Madam Justice Catriona Jarvis: Being a feminist judge in the immigration tribunal has been
I’ve left out the names. There were two children and both were born in Britain as British citizens. They can “go home” where they belong,
The government has issued guidance on how section 65 of the Immigration Act 2014 will be applied. Section 65 fills the gap for children of
So the Judicial Appointments Commission is seeking to recruit “up to 20” fee paid Deputy Judges of the Upper Tribunal, Immigration and Asylum Chamber and six
Coming back from my break and looking through various updates, I was struck by a series of articles on citizenship and nationality laws in the
You are giving me your testimony and I will hold it for you and I will honour it and I will bear witness to what
Want to know what it was like stuck on the float list at Hatton Cross today? Read Emily Dugan’s excellent write up in The Independent.
It is considered that a significant number of children are brought up satisfactorily by one parent alone with little or no contact with their other
The Guardian is reporting that Isabella Acevedo, former immigration minister Mark Harper’s former cleaner, was arrested at her daughter’s wedding on Friday last week. Fifteen
The first Commencement Order for the Immigration Act 2014 has been made: the Immigration Act 2014 (Commencement No. 1, Transitory and Saving Provisions) Order 2014 (SI 2014/1820).
I was just taking a look at the official immigration statistics to compare refusal rates for different nationalities. This jumped out at me, though:
So, the Home Office was doing such a bad job of immigration control that it decided to outsource its responsibilities to employers, then universities, then
Last year, in 2013, the Home Office launched its #beatthepeak campaign to warn holidaymakers to apply early for passports. In the space of a year
Link to the Bill home page here for updates and developments.
Full text of the Immigration Act 2014 if you haven’t seen it already. I’ve been away and am catching up.
The Home Office has managed to use a photo of a child that it wanted to remove from the UK as the face of its
The story of Yashika Bageerathi has touched many. A bright student brought to the UK by her mother with her siblings to escape domestic violence at
In another highly critical report on immigration enforcement by the Home Office, the Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration John Vine has found that in nearly
This is while the Home Office, judges and lawyers battle the harsh spouse minimum income threshold through the courts. For an idea of the human
Immigration Law News For the Home Office’s report: “Impacts of migration on UK native employment: An analytical review of the evidence”, click here. From 1 April
What is a radical lawyer? What I mean by it are those lawyers whose actions and attitudes were largely motivated by a political ideology –
As of 1 October 2013 there is a new formal mechanism for making complaints about judges. The process is set out in the Judicial Conduct
The fourth part in the Migrant Journey research series was recently released by the Home Office. It examines what happened to non EEA migrants who
Polite suggestions in the comments, please. Via @legalchap and @MBEGriffiths.
Immigration Minister Mark Harper has resigned from the Government because in 2007 he employed a cleaner who did not have permission to work. Harper claims that
A Home Office spokesman said: “Staff who make exceptional contributions to the work of the Home Office are eligible for special one-off payments” Apparently a total
"Citizenship is a privilege not a right." So say both Judge Dredd and Immigration Minister Mark Harper. As has been pointed out, the UK government
Actress and justice campaigner Joanna Lumley has joined her voice to the rising chorus of concern about the catastrophic changes to Legal Aid. She adds
News just in… Following the foretold floods of 1 January 2014 and the ending of labour market restrictions for Bulgarians and Romanians, Bulgarian mixed grill
Remarkably honest response to Freedom Information Request for Home Office training materials on the immigration law changes taking effect on 28 July 2014: The withheld training documents contain lines to take, which could assist a foreign criminal’s representatives in forming their arguments for appeal. If their appeals were successful, then...
Some information about the shadowy Upper Tribunal Reporting Committee shared with me by the indefatigable Shoaib Khan, obtained through a Freedom of Information request: The current members of the reporting committee are: Mr Justice McCloskey (President), Mr C M G Ockelton (Vice President), Upper Tribunal Judge Peter Lane (Chair), Upper...
On 20 November 2014, the National Audit Office – the independent Parliamentary body responsible for scrutinising the way in which the government spends public money – published a report on the implementation of the post-2010 civil legal aid reforms. Its central conclusion is an unsurprising one: while spending on civil...
Have you forgotten yet?… For the world’s events have rumbled on since those gagged days, Like traffic checked while at the crossing of city-ways: And the haunted gap in your mind has filled with thoughts that flow Like clouds in the lit heaven of life; and you’re a man reprieved...
Following the death at Heathrow Airport in October 2010 of Jimmy Mubenga during the course of his deportation this week saw the start of a landmark prosecution of the three G4S Detention Custody Officers. Counsel for the Crown Mark Dennis QC opening the case said: [The guards] held Mubenga in...
Gail Elliman was first and foremost a fantastically warm, funny and compassionate human being. She was also a socialist, a feminist, a lawyer, a trainer, an immigration judge and a coroner. Tragically, she died on 19 October 2014 at the age of 53. I did not know Gail well enough...
The clue is in the word “illegal”, David. There are a very wide range of criminal offences covering all types of, er, illegal behaviour. Not just in immigration law, either! In an immigration context, though, section 24 of the Immigration Act 1971 (“title: Illegal entry and similar offences”) is probably...
This from Channel 4 News about the collapse of a huge “sham marriage” criminal trial: But, when immigration officers were questioned in the witness box, it emerged that evidence had been tampered with or concealed, possibly destroyed, video footage had gone missing, and an investigation log had been doctored. His...
The National Audit Office has published a damning report on the UK’s deportation process today. The numbers of foreign criminals deported have actually declined since 2008-09 despite a tenfold increase in the number of staff dealing with these cases at the Home Office, from below 100 in 2006 to over...
“But the plans were on display…” “On display? I eventually had to go down to the cellar to find them.” “That’s the display department.” “With a flashlight.” “Ah, well, the lights had probably gone.” “So had the stairs.” “But look, you found the notice, didn’t you?” “Yes,” said Arthur, “yes...
So Banksy’s new immigration themed mural in Clacton — where Douglas Carswell has resigned as Conservative MP to stand in a by election for UKIP — has been destroyed by the local council before anyone else even knew it was there on the grounds that it was “offensive” and “racist”....
Interesting reports from a meeting on gender and refugee law tonight: Madam Justice Catriona Jarvis: Being a feminist judge in the immigration tribunal has been a solitary & lonely path #GenderInRefugeeLaw — Asylum Aid (@AsylumAid) September 29, 2014 (I’m fairly sure Asylum Aid have her title wrong in that one.)
...The government has issued guidance on how section 65 of the Immigration Act 2014 will be applied. Section 65 fills the gap for children of British Citizen fathers born before 2006 whose parents were/are not married. The provisions will create a registration route for: Those who would have become British...
So the Judicial Appointments Commission is seeking to recruit “up to 20” fee paid Deputy Judges of the Upper Tribunal, Immigration and Asylum Chamber and six salaried Judges of the Upper Tribunal, Immigration and Asylum Chamber. The former are paid £595 per day for up to 30 days per year....
Coming back from my break and looking through various updates, I was struck by a series of articles on citizenship and nationality laws in the event of Scottish independence following the vote this Thursday. Some of these seem to me fundamentally to misunderstand the independence process as it is likely...
Want to know what it was like stuck on the float list at Hatton Cross today? Read Emily Dugan’s excellent write up in The Independent. We weren’t the only ones. Several cases were adjourned off to future dates, including cases in which my Garden Court colleagues Taimour Lay and Peter...
The Guardian is reporting that Isabella Acevedo, former immigration minister Mark Harper’s former cleaner, was arrested at her daughter’s wedding on Friday last week. Fifteen blackshirts burst in along with a few regular police officers just before the ceremony, it is said. The Daily Mail picked up the story but...
The first Commencement Order for the Immigration Act 2014 has been made: the Immigration Act 2014 (Commencement No. 1, Transitory and Saving Provisions) Order 2014 (SI 2014/1820). There is no known date for commencement of the main right of appeals provisions or the new removal power but some of the...
I was just taking a look at the official immigration statistics to compare refusal rates for different nationalities. This jumped out at me, though: the refusal rate for visa applications by Syrians now stands at 57%. There was a 16 percentage point jump in the refusal rate between 3rd...
So, the Home Office was doing such a bad job of immigration control that it decided to outsource its responsibilities to employers, then universities, then doctors and now, under the Immigration Act 2014, private citizen landlords. But the same Home Office is surprised and horrified that these institutions are no...
Last year, in 2013, the Home Office launched its #beatthepeak campaign to warn holidaymakers to apply early for passports. In the space of a year we’ve gone from a social media campaign showing smoothly oiled machines churning out shiny new passports by the second to leaked photos showing the applications...
The Home Office has managed to use a photo of a child that it wanted to remove from the UK as the face of its campaign to overturn a High Court judgment allowing divided families to be reunited. The news item concerns the controversial minimum income rule that is dividing...
The story of Yashika Bageerathi has touched many. A bright student brought to the UK by her mother with her siblings to escape domestic violence at home in Mauritius, she has a promising future here if allowed to remain. Because she has turned 18 and is no longer a child,...
In another highly critical report on immigration enforcement by the Home Office, the Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration John Vine has found that in nearly two thirds of cases (59%) immigration enforcement officers entering business premises lacked the legal authority to do so and in addition were regularly flouting...
Immigration Law News For the Home Office’s report: “Impacts of migration on UK native employment: An analytical review of the evidence”, click here. From 1 April 2014, the British Refugee Council and Migrant Helpline will provide advice services to asylum seekers and refugees. To read further, click here. For updated...
What is a radical lawyer? What I mean by it are those lawyers whose actions and attitudes were largely motivated by a political ideology – socialism and further left; or at least angry lawyers dedicated to fundamental changes to the law, its institutions and the legal system. They were fearless...
As of 1 October 2013 there is a new formal mechanism for making complaints about judges. The process is set out in the Judicial Conduct (Tribunals) Rules 2013. A colleague alerted me to these rules and a recent comment on the blog persuaded me that it is worth highlighting them...
Immigration Minister Mark Harper has resigned from the Government because in 2007 he employed a cleaner who did not have permission to work. Harper claims that he has not broken the law but is resigning because “I should hold myself to a higher standard than expected of others”. The first...
A Home Office spokesman said: “Staff who make exceptional contributions to the work of the Home Office are eligible for special one-off payments” Apparently a total of 11,672 bonuses were paid in 2012/13 to around 40% of staff, equating to a mean bonus of £559. Who knew that 40% of...
Actress and justice campaigner Joanna Lumley has joined her voice to the rising chorus of concern about the catastrophic changes to Legal Aid. She adds her name, forever associated with the legally aided fight for the rights of Gurkhas (not to mention Ab Fab, James Bond and the New Avengers),...
News just in… Following the foretold floods of 1 January 2014 and the ending of labour market restrictions for Bulgarians and Romanians, Bulgarian mixed grill (Meshana skara) and Romanian sour soup (Ciorbă) are already outselling chicken tikka masala as the new British national dish here in the UK.
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