Refugees

This Briefing Paper 8.30 substantially amends and brings up to date the previous version dated March 2005 (now deleted), taking account of recent changes in the law Introduction 1 The immigration appeals system has undergone major changes twice in recent years. Until April 2005 there was a two tier system, the first tier consisting of […]

Sir Andrew Green was interviewed on the Today Programme at 8.35 this morning about the asylum seekers’ camp near Calais, together with Donna Covey, the Chief Executive of the Refugee Council. Sir Andrew said that the reason for people queueing up in Calais must be that Britain was perceived as a “soft touch”. The official […]

Migrationwatch website has been revamped and updated. This should make it easier to find any information on immigration and asylum issues you may require. In particular, two overview papers: “What is the problem?” and “What can be done?” may prove to be useful.

In September 2008 Briefing Paper 8.28, summarising the contents of the Draft (Partial) Immigration and Citizenship Bill, gave an account of the Bill’s contents and of the views on it which we submitted to the Home Affairs Committee of the House of Commons…… … There is now before Parliament a Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Bill, […]

Summary Confusion continues to reign over the distinction between an asylum seeker and a refugee. In the period 1997 – 2007 three quarters of asylum applications were refused after a process with a reduced burden of proof and opportunities to appeal. Asylum seekers should not be confused with genuine applicants who are, rightly, granted refugee […]

Radio 4’s Beyond Westminster (1100 hrs – 1130 hrs Saturday, 10 January 2009) discussed whether the record levels of immigrants are something to be celebrated or deplored and how far things will be changed by the looming recession The BBC’s Andrew Rawnsley first questioned Migrationwatch’s Chairman, Sir Andrew Green, about why his organisation is alarmed […]

Migrationwatch Briefing Paper No 8.28 summarised some of the main features of the government’s recently published Draft (Partial) Immigration and Citizenship Bill and appended a copy of the submissions made by Migrationwatch to the Home Affairs Committee of the House of Commons. The draft is described as partial because some important topics have been omitted, […]

Following the evidence which we gave to the Economic Committee of the House of Lords, Migrationwatch were invited by a Cross Party Group of Parliamentarians to put forward suggestions as to how immigration issues should be tackled in a way that took account and also tackles the need to preserve the competitiveness of the economy […]

Harry Mitchell, QC, summarises in Briefing Paper 8.27 three recent cases which are of interest. In all three questions concerning the European Convention on Human Rights are prominent. The third case, summarised in paragraphs 10 to 17, is of particular concern. It is a decision of the European Court of Human Rights which may well […]

The Lisbon Treaty could further weaken Britain’s ability to control her own borders, according to a report out today by Migrationwatch. The Treaty now sets the EU the specific aim of developing "common policies" for both asylum and immigration, including uniform standards for asylum. It also widens EU powers to define the rights of legal […]