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Irene Tsherit @irenetsherit.bsky.social · 1d

Finally!!! The real scandal of the asylum hotels. Why, instead of shining the light on these parasites, months were spent on demonising vulnerable people at their mercy?
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

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

Asylum seekers and charities tell BBC of

www.bbc.co.uk

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Reposted by Irene Tsherit

Alasdair Mackenzie @alasdairmackenzie.bsky.social · 5d

Once again, ideas which started on the maddest fringes of the far right are being normalised as the stuff of day-to-day political debate. Genuinely horrifying to think what might follow this into the mainstream by 2029

Jonathan Portes @jdportes.bsky.social · 6d

The Times finds it "unacceptable" that people who came here legally in 2021 and have been living and working here since should allowed to stay.

The sad decline of a once great newspaper into ignorant xenophobia and casual racism

archive.ph/TFZY9

There is a more pressing issue. Ministers must ensure that the vast numbers of immigrants who arrived in the so-called Boriswave of 2020-21 are not automatically absorbed into the permanent population. They are about to cross the the five-year threshold into ILR, yet Labour continues to dither. Ms Mahmood must freeze the status of this huge cohort while a new residency regime is finalised. A million or more extra permanent residents in these islands, let in on the nod, is simply unacceptable. Finally, the home secretary must acquaint herself, and the public, with an accurate estimate of the actual number of foreign nationals living here, what taxes they pay and what services they consume. Without hard data, all the political parties are fumbling around in the dark.

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Free Movement @freemovement.bsky.social · 9d

New from Free Movement: Briefing: is the modern slavery identification system in the UK being misused? | Sonia Lenegan

Briefing: is the modern slavery identification system in the UK being misused? - Free Movement

The Home Secretary has claimed (as have many of the last several of them) that the modern slavery identification process is "being misused" and has used this

freemovement.org.uk

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Irene Tsherit @irenetsherit.bsky.social · 8d

💯 this, the suggestion that people who spend years working full time in shortage occupations, paying extortionate visa & health surcharge fees on top of tax/NI somehow have not 'earned' the right to settle here and must now do extra hours of unpaid labour is beyond insulting on so many levels 😡

Dan Sohege @danielsohege.bsky.social · 8d

Migrants already "earn the right to settlement" through extortionate visa costs, which can run into tens of thousands of pounds. They prop up key services, including through the Immigration Health Surcharge.

Pushing the hostile environment on steroids helps no-one.

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

Mahmood demands migrants earn right to settlement in UK

New tests will include learning English to a high standard, paying National Insurance and not claiming benefits.

www.bbc.co.uk

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Reposted by Irene Tsherit

Anti Trafficking and Labour Exploitation Unit @atleu.bsky.social · 12d

The Home Office's own guidance recognises that survivors of #ModernSlavery often delay disclosing their experiences, yet policies still penalise them for doing so. Instead of treating this as a suspicion, the government should focus on protection, not punishment and hostility.

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Irene Tsherit @irenetsherit.bsky.social · 15d

Only person in politics actually talking sense 👏

Zack Polanski @zackpolanski.bsky.social · 15d

The truth: we need migration.

The problem: too many politicians are terrified to say it.

Why? They're led by a) toxicity of the charlatans & b) wealthy media organisations who demand these useful distractions rather than us talking about inequality.

Reject it. Draw the line.

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Irene Tsherit @irenetsherit.bsky.social · 24d

💯 this. Silence from government is absolutely deafening 🤦‍♀️

Alasdair Mackenzie @alasdairmackenzie.bsky.social · 24d

This is hugely problematic. The overwhelming majority in the UK reject the far right yet our views aren‘t being properly articulated in the public sphere: the papers largely support it, the BBC is a mix of supportive & supine, the government simply absent

Adam Bienkov @adambienkov.bsky.social · 24d

Still absolutely nothing to say about far right thugs rioting and attacking the police while a US tech billionaire calls for a violent insurrection on our streets

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RAMFEL 🧡 @ramfel.bsky.social · Sep 1

😡😡😡
Today is a day of national shame.
Every single politician who supports Labour suspending #familyreunion for refugees should hang their heads in shame.
We'll say it loud and proud, #refugeeswelcome

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Irene Tsherit @irenetsherit.bsky.social · Aug 26

Oh dear, it's even worse than I thought 🤦‍♀️ A very informative 🧵 here 👇. Once again, a merry-go-round of rejecting all common sense for useless (at best) headlines.

Alasdair Mackenzie @alasdairmackenzie.bsky.social · Aug 25

Hard to tell from this bland announcement just what the government plans for asylum appeals, so I’m trying not to speculate. But I’ve worked in the sector in various roles since 1987 & I’ve seen a lot of policy proposals come & go so I have Thoughts on the dysfunctional way we decide such things
1/🧵

Tribunal system reforms to speed up asylum decisions

A new independent body will be set up to speed up decision making on asylum appeal cases.

www.gov.uk

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Reposted by Irene Tsherit

Alasdair Mackenzie @alasdairmackenzie.bsky.social · Aug 25

PS Exactly this - whether deliberately or otherwise the Home Office just fail to co-operate in trying to manage appeals fairly or efficiently until everyone else loses patience. But somehow it's the fault of asylum seekers, or the judiciary, that the system is so dysfunctional

Sonia L @sonial77.bsky.social · Aug 25

I don't do loads of appeals nowadays but the last one I did the tribunal eventually gave up trying to get the HO to carry out the review and just moved us on to the rest of the directions...

Alasdair Mackenzie @alasdairmackenzie.bsky.social · Aug 25

It’s also worth pointing out that the existing tribunal system, though underfunded, has made progress in making appeals run more smoothly- see 👇- often by trying to make the HO co-operate better in case management. The HO’s reaction to this is probably most charitably described as recalcitrant 11/

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Irene Tsherit @irenetsherit.bsky.social · Apr 29

I knew it!! No way those decisions could have been written by a human being and it's blatantly obvious. What is next? AI appeal determination? Seriously, what could POSSIBLY go wrong?!! 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️
www.ein.org.uk/news/home-of...

Home Office to expand AI use in asylum decision-making after promising pilot results

Artificial intelligence will be deployed to support caseworkers to make swifter decisions on asylum claims

www.ein.org.uk

Reposted by Irene Tsherit

Alasdair Mackenzie @alasdairmackenzie.bsky.social · Apr 22

🧵👇👇👇

Minnie Rahman @minnierahman.bsky.social · Apr 22

Numbers Labour could publish on foreign born people instead of criminal history:
😀Windrush without compensation
😀People who have experienced hate crime
😀Stats on NRPF that they refuse to publish
😀Stats on race/ethnicity that they refuse to publish
😀Visas denied due to racist decision making

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Reposted by Irene Tsherit

Migrants Organise @migrantsorganise.bsky.social · Apr 3

🚀NEW REPORT🚀

❗This week we launched a new report highlighting how the crisis in legal aid is leaving people without good quality legal advice at a time when they need it most.

➡️ Access it here www.migrantsorganise.org/new-report-t...

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Reposted by Irene Tsherit

Zoe Gardner @zoejardiniere.bsky.social · Apr 1

As @workrights.bsky.social say in the article:
There is systemic risk inherent in the work visa sponsorship system we have for immigration because it puts the employer in a position of incredible power & has enabled a predatory market of middlemen to mushroom

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

Secret filming reveals brazen tactics of UK visa sponsorship scammers

An undercover BBC investigation exposes how rogue agents are exploiting a UK visa scheme.

www.bbc.co.uk

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Irene Tsherit @irenetsherit.bsky.social · Mar 16

What a hideous thing to say. Why target most vulnerable, whose mental health deteriorates in year-long queues for treatment? Why not make rents sustainable instead to reduce UC/housing benefit bill? It's the literal redistribution of public funds from poor to wealthy!

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

Mental health conditions are overdiagnosed, Streeting says

Wes Streeting says too many young people are

www.bbc.co.uk

Reposted by Irene Tsherit

MiCLU @micluteam.bsky.social · Mar 11

The Rwanda scheme may be scrapped but the government is holding back parts of the Illegal Migration Act. As the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill passes through Parliament, we and other organisations are calling for an amendment to repeal section 59 IMA. Read why: bit.ly/4kGDxFF

Why we are calling for the repeal of Section 59 - Migrant & Refugee Children's Legal Unit

“If it was a safe country, victims of trafficking and blood feuds would get support instead of crossing the channel or coming in lorries and taking all those risks.” “I […]

bit.ly

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Irene Tsherit @irenetsherit.bsky.social · Feb 13

So incredibly sad to hear this 😔 Yes, rest in power.

MiCLU @micluteam.bsky.social · Feb 13

MiCLU mourn the loss of and pay tribute to Luljeta Nuzi, founder and former CEO of Shpresa Programme who passed away following a protracted fight with cancer yesterday morning.

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Irene Tsherit @irenetsherit.bsky.social · Feb 3

I just don't understand why this 'magic' can't be applied to the one online system everybody is now required to use! Just too convenient apparently🤷‍♀️🤦‍♀️

Luke Piper @lukepiper.bsky.social · Feb 3

Status cliff edges are nothing new. HO response to these problems is that people can use the (rarely heard of) employer/landlord checking service where digital status does not show the correct information.

www.landlords-request-a-check.homeoffice.gov.uk/start

www.gov.uk/employee-imm...

The Guardian @theguardian.com · Feb 3

Ukrainian refugees face losing jobs and homes due to UK visa extension uncertainty

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Irene Tsherit @irenetsherit.bsky.social · Feb 3

Why oh why can't eVisas show 3C leave?!!! 🤦‍♀️
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

Ukrainian refugees face losing jobs and homes due to UK visa extension uncertainty

Home Office process will leave some with eight-week gap when they are unable to prove right to live and work in UK

www.theguardian.com

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Dr Jo Wilding @jowilding.bsky.social · Jan 19

things have got even worse since the legal aid census, with at least 57% of new asylum applicants now unable to access a legal aid lawyer, and housing providers withdrawing from the sector.
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Legal aid and the future of access to justice

Published in Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law (Ahead of Print, 2025)

www.tandfonline.com

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Irene Tsherit @irenetsherit.bsky.social · Jan 16

🎉😊

Colin Yeo @colinyeo.bsky.social · Jan 16

Good to see @micluteam.bsky.social here as well. They are the Migrant and Refugee Children's Legal Unit, based at Islington Law Centre.

Reposted by Irene Tsherit

Free Movement @freemovement.bsky.social · Jan 14

New from Free Movement: How to identify whether a migrant domestic worker is a victim of modern slavery? | Claire Physsas https://freemovement.org.uk/how-to-identify-whether-a-migrant-domestic-worker-is-a-victim-of-modern-slavery/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=how-to-identify-whether-a…

How to identify whether a migrant domestic worker is a victim of modern slavery? - Free Movement

The domestic worker route is a common trafficking route and below we look at how to identify whether a domestic worker is a victim of modern slavery. Domestic

buff.ly

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Irene Tsherit @irenetsherit.bsky.social · Jan 10

This really resonates, especially after watching Squid Game 2 last night. Also the Brexit vote and a few more since.. ugh :(

Zoe Gardner @zoejardiniere.bsky.social · Jan 10

I just got a text message from my GP warning me that A&Es near me are busy and to avoid going but call 111 if I am unwell.

And they want us to do austerity again.

They want us to die, and fight each other, and stamp on anyone who is different. They want to horde more wealth, forever.

Zoe Gardner @zoejardiniere.bsky.social · Jan 10

I literally can’t believe that we’re hearing the case being made for austerity again.

After it destroyed growth, destroyed communities, trashed public services & gave us all this far right backlash to deal with.

These smug rich men still saying Reeves should make the case for more cuts🤦‍♀️ #r4today

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Asylum Aid @asylumaid.bsky.social · Dec 10

We are extremely concerned that the UK government has decided to suspend decision making in Syrian asylum cases.

The reasons for Syrian nationals claiming asylum in the UK are complex and not limited solely to the atrocities committed by the Assad regime. 1/2

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