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Reposted by Asylum Matters

Kings Heath United Against Racism @khuar.bsky.social · 1d

Handsworth is not divided, it’s Birmingham.

Our diversity isn’t a weakness, it’s our greatest strength. From Caribbean cafés to South Asian grocers and Eastern European shops, Handsworth represents the true face of Britain: proud, resilient, and beautifully diverse.
- Birmingham Race Impact Group

BRIG

Birmingham will not be divided

The recent remarks by Robert Jenrick about 'seeing no white faces' in Handsworth are deeply irresponsible and reveal ore about his own worldview than about our city.

Once again, we are dragged back into tired debates about "integration", "Britishness" and who belongs, as if being non-white somehow makes you less British.

Handsworth has always been one of Birmingham's most diverse and multicultural communities, a place where people of every colour, faith and background live, work and trade side by side. To claim otherwise is not only inaccurate, but also designed to provoke division and resentment.

If Mr Jenrick had looked a little closer, he would have seen the vibrant Eastern European shops, the Caribbean cafes, the South Asian grocers and the faith spaces that make the Soho Road one of the most culturally rich streets in Britain.
Perhaps his "90-minute integration study", armed with a Dulux colour chart, missed that reality.

The truth is this: Handsworth is not a slum, It is one of Birmingham's treasures; a community that has stood tall through decades of struggle and change. Rather than being maligned, it should be celebrated and placed firmly on the city's cultural and tourism map.

BRIG

Monday night's Pioneers Exhibition, launched by Birmingham Race Impact Group (BRIG) and funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, reminded us of the generations who have faced down racism and defended our communities - people who have worked tirelessly to build the inclusive, resilient Birmingham we know today.

Their stories, captured on the Beyond Racism website show the real face of this city: proud, diverse and enduring.

Jagwant Johal, BRIG Founding Member said, "Birmingham has always been a city of welcome and resistance, a place where difference is not feared but celebrated. Handsworth, like so many of our neighbourhoods, is living proof that integration is not about exclusion. It's about mutual respect, shared struggle and collective belonging."

Handsworth and Birmingham will not tolerate attempts to sow division. We stand united as Brummies, as neighbours, and as people who know that our diversity is our greatest strength.

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NACCOM @naccomnetwork.bsky.social · 4h

Everyone deserves a safe place to call their home.

Each year, thousands of people are forced to endure the trauma of homelessness as they go through the asylum and immigration system. On #WorldHomelessnessDay, we stand in solidarity with all people experiencing homelessness.

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Asylum Matters @asylummatters.bsky.social · 22h

This is why we should all be angry about the use of asylum hotels. Private firms raking in millions while people forced to live in these hotels endure appalling conditions.

People seeking safety and UK taxpayers are losing out and the only winners are millionaire companies.

Asylum hotel provider makes £180m profit despite claims of inedible food and rationed loo paper

Asylum seekers and charities tell BBC of "terrible" conditions as accommodation provider makes millions.

www.bbc.co.uk

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Asylum Matters @asylummatters.bsky.social · 2d

Let a whole population of people trapped out of work start rebuilding their lives, and get vital work done at the same time?
Letting people seeking asylum work just makes sense.

#LiftTheBan

What if the solution to Wales’ skills crisis was already here — but trapped by red tape? - Institute of Welsh Affairs

Paul Shackson from the Welsh Refugee Council explains how a skills shortage in Wales could be tackled thanks to a ready and willing workforce waiting to help.

www.iwa.wales

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Asylum Matters @asylummatters.bsky.social · 3d

Well done to the Welsh Government for speaking up for sanctuary 👏

Cutting through misinformation to explain what aiming to be a nation of sanctuary really means and why Wales is proud of the welcome it offers.

More of this from all UK leaders, please!

Written Statement: Nation of Sanctuary for people placed in Wales | GOV.WALES

Jane Hutt MS, Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Trefnydd & Chief Whip

www.gov.wales

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rainbowmigration.bsky.social @rainbowmigration.bsky.social · 4d

🎟️Have you got your ticket to our event in support of @right-to-remain.bsky.social National Day of Solidarity to End Immigration Detention, in collaboration with @beyonddetention.bsky.social ?

Grab your free ticket now: buff.ly/9xVoymG

#NoPrideInDetention #EndLGBTQIDetention

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Asylum Matters @asylummatters.bsky.social · 4d

"I wish those who spread hatred could spend just one week in Napier Barracks, cut off from work, isolated from society, uncertain of the future. Only then would they understand what it feels like."
www.bigissue.com/opinion/asyl...

I wish people like Tommy Robinson could see what life is really like for asylum seekers

Refugees and asylum seekers are not a burden – they are people with skills, experiences and dreams with the potential to help communities.

www.bigissue.com

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Asylum Matters @asylummatters.bsky.social · 7d

Ending family reunion will tear families apart and put children's lives at risk. Cutting settlement rights will make it harder for refugees to feel in our communities. These plans don't end a 'golden ticket' - they strip away basic decency.

www.mirror.co.uk/news/politic...

'Immoral new asylum plans will mean more children dying in the Channel'

Louise Calvey, executive director of Asylum Matters, argues that Keir Starmer's decision to end refugee 'golden tickets' removes a vital safe route used by women and children

www.mirror.co.uk

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Asylum Matters @asylummatters.bsky.social · 8d

Safety, the right to rebuild a life and be with your family aren't a "golden ticket". They're the basic rights any decent society should give people who aren't safe in their home country.
We all must stand against this appalling attack on refugee rights.

Starmer to end asylum ‘golden ticket’ of resettlement and family reunion rights

People granted asylum will have to earn right to invite family in plan charities call ‘straight from populist playbook’

www.theguardian.com

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Asylum Matters @asylummatters.bsky.social · 8d

People seeking asylum want to work. The Government should let them work.
It really is that simple. We don't need punitive measures, convoluted gimmicks or forced 'volunteering' - just the same rights as any other worker.

www.thenational.scot/news/2549854...

'Shelve the gimmicks': Home Office urged to act on Labour Together's asylum plans

CHARITIES, opposition parties, and people who have lived through the Home Office system have urged the UK Government to act on proposals from an…

www.thenational.scot

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City of Sanctuary UK @cityofsanctuaryuk.bsky.social · 8d

Welcome to City of Sanctuary! 💫

We bring communities together to build a society where everyone belongs and everyone matters.

At a time of rising hostility, we create safe spaces, challenge division and champion human dignity.

We are a movement of welcome - and we can’t wait for you to join us.

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Helen Bamber Foundation 🧡 @helenbamber.bsky.social · 9d

It is horrendous that people who come to the UK to seek safety after fleeing torture and trafficking, are met with further violence, creating more trauma. This is what happens when dangerous rhetoric and misinformation are spread, emboldened and legitimised.

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www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Man arrested after fire at London asylum seekers' hotel

The blaze is being treated as a hate crime by officers investigating.

www.bbc.co.uk

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Asylum Matters @asylummatters.bsky.social · 9d

Imagine being a refugee, finally given status after years of waiting. All this time you've been banned from work, so you volunteered, to keep up your skills and keep busy.
Now, you're expected to instantly get a job AND do more free labour?

www.lbc.co.uk/article/mahm...

Migrants told to learn English, avoid crime, and volunteer to stay in Britain, Home Secretary to say | LBC

The Home Secretary will lay out proposals for tightening up migration laws in a speech at Labour conference on Monday

www.lbc.co.uk

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Reposted by Asylum Matters

Homeless Link @homelesslink.bsky.social · 22d

With 63 other expert organisations, we’ve written to Government to strongly oppose the sudden reduction in the asylum accommodation move-on period for newly recognised refugees.

Read our joint letter in full in the The Guardian today 👇

www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

Scrap policy that gives refugees with leave to remain 28 days to find housing, say UK groups

Halving time asylum seekers have to leave Home Office accommodation will make thousands homeless at time when ‘racist sentiment’ is on the rise

www.theguardian.com

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Asylum Matters @asylummatters.bsky.social · 10d

Reality check - most of us:
🤝 Want to mix with people from different backgrounds
🧡 Think our community is peaceful & friendly
💷 Care far more about cost of living than migration
So why do so many politicians focus on demonising migrants above all else?

Nigel Farage fails in major move as silent majority aren't fooled

The Giga Poll of more than 45,300 people covering over 80 issues provides hope that the country is not completely in the grip of racial tensions

www.mirror.co.uk

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Asylum Matters @asylummatters.bsky.social · 10d

"Targeting refugees will do nothing to tackle structural issues or improve people’s lives. It only serves as a dangerous smokescreen to scapegoat the most vulnerable"

If there's one message the new Home Secretary needs to hear, it's this:

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home...

More than 100 charities call for home secretary to stop ‘scapegoating’ migrants

The letter claimed that blaming migrants for societal issues had sown ‘anger and division’ in the community

www.independent.co.uk

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Asylum Matters @asylummatters.bsky.social · 10d

The Home Secretary just told people seeking safety "your only route into the UK should be a safe and legal one".
She's right.
Everyone should be able to seek sanctuary safely. But it's her Government that refuses to create safe routes - forcing people to risk dangerous ones.

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Asylum Matters @asylummatters.bsky.social · 11d

Constantly shifting the goalposts for what "good enough" looks like will mean migrants, including refugees, are never allowed to feel safe and settled.
It's chilling to see the Home Secretary say "living and working" isn't enough - and to wonder what more she could possibly demand.

Text from a Sky News article reads: "Ms Mahmood added: "We need legal migration, it is a good thing. We are a country that has always welcomed people who want to come and work here.

"But I think in addition to living and working here there is a bigger thing to do as well which is to make sure that people are making a contribution to their wider community and wider society."

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Asylum Matters @asylummatters.bsky.social · 13d

While our leaders fixate on distractions like digital ID, and the punitive, unworkable 1-in-1-out plan, here's something that would actually make the asylum system better for everyone: working rights. A 'win win' according to The Economist:

Britain’s work restrictions set up asylum-seekers to fail

The economic benefits of relaxing the rules are clear—as are the political obstacles to doing so

www.economist.com

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Asylum Matters @asylummatters.bsky.social · 15d

It doesn't matter where we're from: we all deserve dignity and a decent quality of life. The TUC is absolutely right to say that building a better system for all of us would mean building a better, fairer system for people seeking safety.

It is time the left made a case for immigration – and how to control it

A credible migration plan means investing in UK skills, enforcing fair rules, and building a country where all workers – wherever they’re from – are treated with dignity, writes Paul Nowak

buff.ly

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Asylum Matters @asylummatters.bsky.social · 17d

"I am not a stranger; I’m part of the UK’s everyday story.”
Solidarity with anyone feeling afraid after Reform's appalling policy announcement yesterday. Together we must fight this tide of anti-migrant hatred. We won't let our communities be torn apart.
www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/poli...

‘Britain is my home – but Farage’s new plan has me fearing for my future’

As Nigel Farage vows to ditch indefinite leave to remain for migrants, those who have made a life in the UK share their fears about the plan

www.independent.co.uk

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Praxis, for migrants and refugees @praxisprojects.bsky.social · 17d

“This all makes you feel very unstable. But this is my life, this is where I am. It is very unsettling; I’m worried for my and my family’s future.” Nish, Youth Organiser at Praxis

Nish secured Indefinite Leave to Remain after a decade of visa applications.
www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/poli...

‘Britain is my home – but Farage’s new plan has me fearing for my future’

As Nigel Farage vows to ditch indefinite leave to remain for migrants, those who have made a life in the UK share their fears about the plan

www.independent.co.uk

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Asylum Matters @asylummatters.bsky.social · 17d

“For too long we have seen how 'hostile environment' policies, expanded under the last government, put women and girls at greater risk of violence and abuse and deny their right to safety."

www.mirror.co.uk/news/politic...

Women's' rights groups accuse Labour of 'institutionally racist narrative'

More than 70 organisations have sent a statement to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood accusing the Government of creating a hostile environment for minoritised victims of violence and abuse

www.mirror.co.uk

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RAMFEL 🧡 @ramfel.bsky.social · 18d

This is a scary announcement by Reform, 1 step away from so-called remigration.
The government must call this out for what it is: racism.
Anything less, such as talking about how it won't work in practical terms, is a moral failure & effectively validates these views.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Reform vows to scrap indefinite leave to remain for migrants

The party says scrapping the scheme and restricting migrant access to benefits will save hundreds of billions of pounds.

www.bbc.co.uk

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Asylum Matters @asylummatters.bsky.social · 18d

This is what scapegoating of people seeking safety by mainstream parties leads to. Not placating anti-migrant extremists, but egging them on. This terrifying plan to attack our friends & neighbours shows why we must keep fighting for the rights of all migrants.

www.theguardian.com/politics/liv...

Newspaper headline reads "Farage: I'll kick out hundreds of thousands"

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