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Asylum Aid @asylumaid.bsky.social · 7d

Applications are now open for the next cohort of Compass: The Asylum Aid Advisor Development Programme!

This free programme offers 5 IAA Level 2 trainees in-depth training, shadowing opportunities, supervision & a peer support network.

Find out how to apply here: asylumaid.org.uk/what-we-do/c...

Compass: The Asylum Aid Advisor Development Programme | Asylum Aid

Image In England and Wales, 65% of the population lacks access to a legal aid provider for immigrat

asylumaid.org.uk

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Helen Bamber Foundation 🧡 @helenbamber.bsky.social · 8d

Asylum hotels MUST be closed but moving people to harmful ex-army sites — like the national shame which is Wethersfield — is not the solution.

People should be housed in suitable accommodation in communities where they can rebuild their lives.

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www.camdennewjournal.co.uk/article/refu....

Refugees are welcome here message as hotel is closed

Fears that asylum seekers will end up in army barracks

www.camdennewjournal.co.uk

Helen Bamber Foundation 🧡 @helenbamber.bsky.social · 8d

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

The ‘Unite the Kingdom’ rally is a terrifying example of what happens when politicians create performative, divisive policies to appease the far-right.

With over 100 orgs, we ask the new Home Secretary to end the scapegoating of refugees & migrants.

📜 www.refugee-action.org.uk/OpenLetterHo...

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Helen Bamber Foundation 🧡 @helenbamber.bsky.social · 20d

With 63 other expert orgs, we’ve written to the government to strongly oppose the reduction in the length of time newly-recognised refugees get to move on from asylum accommodation. This could leave thousands more refugees destitute & on the streets this winter.

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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Helen Bamber Foundation 🧡 @helenbamber.bsky.social · Sep 2

We cannot stress enough how harmful asylum hotels are — contrary to the perception that they are 'luxurious'. They must be closed urgently but not be replaced with crumbling, overcrowded & isolated large sites. 

Thanks @benchu.bsky.social for dispelling the myths around asylum hotels 👇

BBC Newsnight @bbcnewsnight.bsky.social · Aug 29

How many illegal immigrants are living in the UK?

Are they put up in ‘four star hotels’?

Are phones and iPads provided?

Following comments made by Rylan Clark, BBC Verify Policy Correspondent Ben Chu goes through the data and information for #Newsnight

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Helen Bamber Foundation 🧡 @helenbamber.bsky.social · Aug 28

We have been witnessing the fear, sadness & disappointment among the people we support over the last few weeks.

The horrific attacks on asylum hotels are a direct outcome of the constant scapegoating of people seeking safety in our politics & the media. This must stop immediately.

Our response 👇

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Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants @jcwi-uk.bsky.social · Aug 27

In 2 years, the ‘move-on’ period has yo-yoed: 28→7→28→56 days. Now the government wants to slash it again. People who have finally had their refugee status recognised must now find a job and private housing in 28 days - or risk winter on the streets.

Home Office plans to halve time asylum seekers given to find accommodation

Charities sound alarm over plan to give asylum seekers just 28 days to find new housing once they have a decision on their case

www.theguardian.com

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Helen Bamber Foundation 🧡 @helenbamber.bsky.social · Aug 14

The plans to use facial recognition technology to assess the age of children seeking asylum are concerning, unless significant safeguards are put in place.

Replacing poor human decision making with inaccurate AI will not prevent children being put at risk.

www.thenationalnews.com/news/uk/2025...

UK plans to use AI to determine ages of child asylum seekers | The National

Britain wants to use technology as 'cost-effective' fix for problems in asylum system

www.thenationalnews.com

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RAMFEL 🧡 @ramfel.bsky.social · Aug 6

53 organisations have joined RAMFEL to demand Yvette Cooper extend family reunion rights to those resettled under Afghan schemes. This is a vital step to fix the harm caused by the data breach, which exposed families to renewed risk from the Taliban. www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home...

Britain urged to let hero Afghans bring their families to UK after major data leak

Exclusive: Yvette Cooper is warned that the ‘worst possible consequences of the data leak’ could become a ‘dire reality’ if Afghans cannot bring their loved ones to safety

www.independent.co.uk

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Helen Bamber Foundation 🧡 @helenbamber.bsky.social · Jul 31

This is not just a policy failure but a moral one. The government’s commitment to address child poverty must not be selective – it must include lifting all people out of poverty, including those seeking protection.

📝Read our latest blog to learn more: www.helenbamber.org/resources/re...

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Access denied | Helen Bamber

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www.helenbamber.org

Helen Bamber Foundation 🧡 @helenbamber.bsky.social · Jul 31

We regularly sees reports from our clients’ doctors concerned about children losing weight or not growing as expected due to lack of nutrition & poor-quality hotel food.

In one recent case, a young child living in an East London hotel had lost 5kg due to malnutrition. This is unacceptable. 3/4

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Helen Bamber Foundation 🧡 @helenbamber.bsky.social · Jul 31

People seeking asylum receive less than £50 a week for those in self-catered accommodation and less than £10 a week for those in hotels.

With the amount being so low, thousands of parents can't afford basic items such as nutritious food, clothing and educational supplies. 2/4

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Helen Bamber Foundation 🧡 @helenbamber.bsky.social · Jul 31

Thousands of families with children arrive in the UK every year to seek protection. But they are pushed into extreme poverty by the Home Office.

Two months ago, the government froze the rates of financial support given to people seeking asylum.

This has a devastating impact on children. 🧵

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Reposted by Helen Bamber Foundation 🧡

Asylum Matters @asylummatters.bsky.social · Jul 30

In July 2024, Keir Starmer said he'd close Wethersfield asylum camp. Now, he's forcing hundreds more people to live there.

Nothing has changed. Wethersfield is still isolated, still dangerous, still cruel. People still deserve to live in communities, not camps.

Headline over an image of small, white, barrack-like building reads "number of asylum seekers housed at former RAF base in Essex to rise by 50%"

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Reposted by Helen Bamber Foundation 🧡

Medical Justice @medicaljustice.org.uk · Jul 30

New Medical Justice report finds that failures in clinical safeguards put vulnerable people at unacceptable levels of risk and caused harm and suffering to people in immigration detention during 2024

medicaljustice.org.uk/annual-revie...

Medical Justice Annual Review - The state of healthcare and harm in UK immigration detention in 2024

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Reposted by Helen Bamber Foundation 🧡

Refugee Action @refugeeaction.bsky.social · Jul 29

"I did not come here seeking wealth or running from poverty. In fact, I had a stable life back in my country, Yemen.

"What forced me to leave was not economic hardship, but persecution and fear for my safety and the safety of my family."

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

‘Every human being deserves dignity’: asylum seeker in Essex hotel calls for understanding

Man housed at hotel targeted in protests writes letter urging people not to resort to harmful stereotypes

www.theguardian.com

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Helen Bamber Foundation 🧡 @helenbamber.bsky.social · Jul 30

Many survivors stay silent due to trauma, stigma & fear of retaliation. We must build trust, create safe reporting channels & remove barriers so they can seek help without fear.

On World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, we call for systems that protect & support survivors.

#EndHumanTrafficking

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Reposted by Helen Bamber Foundation 🧡

Helen Bamber Foundation 🧡 @helenbamber.bsky.social · Jul 15

🚨 Thousands of trafficking survivors continue to be denied permission to stay in the UK despite their critical need for safety and support — a new report by @helenbamber.bsky.social, ATLEU & @ecpatuk.bsky.social reveals.

Instead survivors are left in fear and at risk of further exploitation. 🧵1/3

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Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit (GMIAU) @gmiau.bsky.social · Jul 28

'Youth Support Collective’, a group of young people with lived experience of age assessments by the Home Office, has collaborated with @refugeecouncil.bsky.social and GMIAU to create a guide to support others going through the process, and social workers.

🔗 childhood1st.notion.site/age-assessme...

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Praxis, for migrants and refugees @praxisprojects.bsky.social · Jul 28

❓Did you know that hundreds of thousands of people are forced to wait over 10 years for the right to permanently settle in the place they already call home?

And it’s about to get worse. 🧵

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Helen Bamber Foundation 🧡 @helenbamber.bsky.social · Jul 22

Today's report from the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration found that a decade of concerns around the Home Office’s “’perfunctory’ visual assessments” of age remain unaddressed. This needs to change urgently.

📝 Read our full statement: helenbamber.org/resources/la...

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Helen Bamber Foundation welcomes the scrapping of x-rays to assess the age of children seeking asylum, but remains concerned at the use of visual assessments | Helen Bamber

The Helen Bamber Foundation (HBF) welcomes the government’s decision to scrap the use of ‘scientific methods’ to assess the age of unaccompanied children seeking asylum in the UK. However, we are conc...

helenbamber.org

Helen Bamber Foundation 🧡 @helenbamber.bsky.social · Jul 22

Every year hundreds of children seeking protection are incorrectly determined by border officials to be adults based on a cursory visual assessment – over 600 in 2024 alone.

Many are forced to share rooms with adults and end up in adult prisons after being prosecuted for illegal arrival. 3/4

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Helen Bamber Foundation 🧡 @helenbamber.bsky.social · Jul 22

Existing evidence has found that AI & facial recognition technologies to assess age can be even less accurate & more biased than human decisions — with similar patterns of errors. It is vital that the Home Office stops looking for ‘quick fixes’ and prioritise the safety of children. 2/4

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Helen Bamber Foundation 🧡 @helenbamber.bsky.social · Jul 22

🚨 We welcome the government's decision to scrap 'scientific methods' of assessing age of children seeking asylum. X-raying children to decide their age is inaccurate, expensive & potentially harmful.

But we remain concerned about the Home Office’s use of visual assessments & plans to use AI. 🧵👇

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