Coram Children's Legal Centre - Migrant Children's Project - March 2018

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Children's Legal Centre


Migrant Children's Project Newsletter
April 2018

If you have used our guidance and resources recently, and want to inform our work for the coming year, please take two minutes to complete our short survey here.
 
In the last week, the government has faced criticism and backlash over its treatment of the Windrush generation, who were brought to the UK between 1948 and 1971 as British citizens from Caribbean countries, but were never formally naturalised or applied for a British passport. The government has now issued an apology to those affected, but the 'Windrush' scandal has shone a light on a number of problems facing young migrants:

Citizenship fees
In the wake of the scandal, the Home Office has promised the Windrush generation that they will be granted British citizenship by waiving citizenship fees for those affected and their families. However, this still leaves thousands of migrant young people and families in the UK who are entitled to British Citizenship having to pay the fees, which have now increased to £1,012 for children and £1,206 for adults. For more information on how migrant children, young people and families are affected by this, see our registering children as British citizens fact sheet here.
 

Undocumented young people

Although the government has committed to resolving all Windrush cases within two weeks, much more needs to be done to address the needs of all long-settled migrant children, young people and families. The ‘hostile environment’ agenda has not only further complicated the immigration application process and toughened up the immigration rules on long residence, but also significantly increased fees for immigration applications, for long term residents, leaving many undocumented families faced with the hard decision of having to choose which child’s case is most urgent for them to pay for. Campaigners from Let Us Learn, a group of migrant young people who have tirelessly worked to better represent migrant communities staged a vigil outside Downing Street to not only show support for generation Windrush, but also to demonstrate against the ever-increasing costs of immigration applications. For more information, listen to Let Us Learn and Coram on Radio 4's Money Box live: The Cost of Citizenship  and read our report 'This is my home'.

For further information on advice on regularising status, read our detailed guide: Securing permanent status: existing legal routes for children and young people without leave to remain in the UK.
 
Legal representation
The government has denied that the 2013 cuts to legal aid in immigration cases would have affected the Windrush generation,despite the fact that legal aid was previously available to the ‘Windrush children’, when applying for documents to confirm their immigration status. The 2013 legal aid cuts to areas of law such as immigration, family and education, which have made it increasingly difficult for children, young people and families to access justice are currently under review. Although there will not be any public consultation on the review this year, CCLC will be feeding evidence from its services into the review. If you have any comments or evidence you would like us to contribute, please email us at: [email protected]For more information on legal aid and access to justice for children, young people and families, see our new report here.

If you have queries about these or other issues, please contact our advice line on 0207 636 8505 or email [email protected].
 
Our upcoming training courses in 2018

Our courses can now be booked online - just visit our Eventbrite page!

An introduction to the rights of children and young people in the immigration system

Coram Campus, London

Access to education for migrant children

Coram Campus, London

The rights and entitlements of young refugees and migrants

Coram Campus, London 

For more information and to book, please see our eventbrite page. To commission in-house training for your organisation, please see our website

New reports and guidance

The impact of the 'hostile environment' on children and young people
The Childrens Society and CCLC, April 2018

A guide to the Hostile Environment- the border controls dividing our communities and how we can bring them down
Edited by Liberty, April 2018

Latest news

Amber Rudd resigns hours after Guardian publishes deportation targets letter
The Guardian, 30 April 2018

Home Office agencies at the heart of Windrush scandal rife with discrimination and harassment, employees say
The Independent, 23 April 2018

Hostile environment policy leaving doctors without visas, say NHS officials
The Guardian, 27 April 2018

Amber Rudd vows to scrap targets for removing immigrants from UK

The Guardian, 26 April 2018

Young asylum seekers ‘face blanket study ban’
The Observer, 25 April 2018

Money Box Live: the Cost of Citizenship
BBC, 25 April 2018

App for EU citizens to get UK residency after Brexit won't work on Apple phones, admits Home Office
The Telegraph, 24 April 2018

How children and grandchildren of Windrush have been affected
Channel 4 News, 24 April 2018

Home Office data exemption sparks fears of further Windrush Scandals
The Guardian, 23 April 2018

The Observer view on Theresa May’s hateful ‘hostile environment’ immigration policy
The Observer, 22 April 2018

UK urged to launch EU citizen registration drive in pubs and schools
The Guardian, 19 April 2018

Commonwealth youth forced to pay thousands or risk 'illegal' status
The Guardian, 18 April 2018

Windrush generation is not alone – children of EU-born citizens could be next
The Conversation, 18 April 2018 

Teachers won’t forget the botched attempt to create a “hostile environment” in our schools
 The Newstatesman, 18 April 2018

Have fees stopped you from applying for UK citizenship?
The Guardian, 18 April 2018

New immigration provisions are resulting in sudden study bans
Right to Remain, 18 April 2018

Theresa May's 'hostile environment' at heart of Windrush scandal
The Guardian, 17 April 2018

What Theresa May’s treatment of Generation Windrush means for other immigrants
The New Statesman, 17 April 2018

MPs urge May to resolve immigration status of Windrush children
The Guardian, 16 April 2018

The Observer view on the UK’s increasingly harsh immigration policy
The Observer, 15 April 2018

Unsettled Status? Which EU Citizens are at Risk of Failing to Secure their Rights after Brexit?
The Migration Observatory, 12 April 2018

Hounding Commonwealth citizens is no accident. It’s cruelty by design
The Guardian, 12 April 2018

'Serious flaws' in UK immigration system, Law Society warns
BBC, 12 April 2018

DfE set to axe pupil data-sharing deal with Home Office
The Guardian, 9 April 2018

DfE ends divisive pupil nationality data collection
Schools Week, 9 April 2018

Young asylum-seekers 'face blanket study ban'
The Observer, 8 April 2018

Homelessness, exploitation, failure: The price of May's anti-migrant project
Politics.co.uk, 6 April 2018

Above-inflation increase in immigration and nationality fees for 2018/9
Free Movement, 4 April 2018

Grandfather resident in the UK since 1961 threatened with deportation given reprieve
Channel 4 News, 4 April 2018

Home Office letter nudges asylum seekers to return home
The Guardian, 2 April 2018

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