Criminalising Asylum Beyond Prosecution: Exclusionary Law and Policy in the UK Written by Professor Sarah Singer, University of London. Originally published in Laws by MDPI

'Criminalising Asylum Beyond Prosecution: Exclusionary Law and Policy in the UK' – a new article by Professor Sarah Singer published in Laws (MDPI) that explores the 'criminalisation' of asylum in recent UK law and policy. You can read a copy on EIN at www.ein.org.uk/blog/crimina...

Lady Chief Justice highlights lack of clarity over plans to replace First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) Baroness Carr of Walton-on-the-Hill says judiciary waiting to be told "what the plan is, what the timeline is, and what the proposals are"

Lady Chief Justice speaking yesterday about plans to replace First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) with new adjudicator body: "I think the first thing we need to do is be told what the plan is, what the timeline is, and what the proposals are"! www.ein.org.uk/news/lady-ch...

Shabana Mahmood is wrong: refugee status was never ‘permanent from day one’ Written by Georgia Cole, University of Edinburgh. Originally published on The Conversation

"Shabana Mahmood is wrong..." From the EIN blog:

www.ein.org.uk/blog/shabana...

Yes, something like ‘public’ or ‘free’ would have been better. ‘Open source’ has a well-known meaning in software, so using it outside that context is ambiguous at best. They really should have said that you must fully check terms & conditions of any AI tool you use and make sure is 100% private.

2. It is not true for Microsoft Copilot, though you can opt-out of sharing data - see support.microsoft.com/en-gb/topic/.... Not clear if that will then be as secure as 365 Copilot. For a good explainer, see ask.library.arizona.edu/faq/407973 - that also mentions difference with Copilot versions.

Data, Privacy, and Security for Microsoft 365 Copilot Learn how Microsoft 365 Copilot uses data and how it stores and protects that data.

1. On the last sentence, I reckon the Tribunal should have specifically referred to 'Microsoft 365 Copilot' rather than 'Microsoft Copilot'. It is true for Microsoft 365 Copilot - see learn.microsoft.com/en-us/copilo....

The Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025 (Commencement No. 2) Regulations 2026 www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2026/59... Coming into force on 2nd February: Sections 17–20, 30–36, 43, 51, 57 (partially) and Schedule 1 (paras 1–3, 12–13)

1st Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025 commencement order brings into force on 5 Jan 2026: ss.1‑12 (Border Commander); ss.13‑16 & s.20 (immigration offences); s.21 (sea-crossing endangerment); ss.22‑29 (device search); s.46 (leave/bail conditions) www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2025/13...

IMB report details serious concerns over routine, unjustified use of force in immigration detention Independent Monitoring Board finds "restraint has become routine, oversight is weak, and the dignity of detained individuals is too often disregarded"

IMB report details serious concerns over routine, unjustified use of force in immigration detention www.ein.org.uk/news/imb-rep...

Asylum and returns policy statement This policy statement sets out significant reforms to the UK’s asylum and returns policy.

Asylum and returns policy statement now published at www.gov.uk/government/p...

The current stats in Danish seem to be available from us.dk/tal-og-stati.... October's at us.dk/media/fg5ljp...

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UK-linked children whose parents have been deprived of their citizenship are trapped in camps in Syria The home secretary has the power to remove a person’s British citizenship if they consider it ‘conducive to the public good’.

UK-linked children whose parents have been deprived of their citizenship are trapped in camps in Syria
theconversation.com/uk-linked-ch...

What a difference a year makes: speech about AI by the Master of the Rolls - Courts and Tribunals Judiciary Read the speech on the use of artificial intelligence in the legal profession given by Sir Geoffrey Vos at the Legal Geek conference in London

Sir Geoffrey Vos this week: "AI is just a tool ... True, it is an important, innovative and useful tool, but, just like a chain saw, a helicopter or a slicing machine, in the right hands it can be very useful, and in the wrong hands, it can be super- dangerous." www.judiciary.uk/speech-about...

Meet Neil Frackelton, our new CEO.

He brings with him a deep commitment to the mission and values that define GMIAU.

Having completed his first week, Neil shares his background, career highlights, and what led him to become the CEO of GMIAU.

🔗https://gmiau.org/meet-neil-frackelton-gmiaus-ceo/

John Tuckett appointed as new ICIBI The Home Secretary has today announced John Tuckett's appointment as Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration (ICIBI).

John Tuckett appointed as new ICIBI www.gov.uk/government/n...

Understanding the Justice Ramifications of Immediately Deporting Foreign National Offenders Written by Amanda Spalding and Jonathan Collinson

Understanding the Justice Ramifications of Immediately Deporting Foreign National Offenders, by Amanda Spalding, Lecturer in Law at the University of Leeds, and Jonathan Collinson, Lecturer in Law at the University of Sheffield www.ein.org.uk/blog/underst...

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...

Home Office loses bid to speed up deportation under one in, one out migrant scheme An Eritrean migrant had his deportation to France delayed last week after a High Court ruling

Home Office loses bid to speed up deportation under Starmer’s one in, one out migrant scheme www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home...

Home Office can deport migrant under 'one in one out deal', court says - after losing similar case on Tuesday The Home Office faced its second legal challenge after a High Court judge issued a temporary halt to plans to deport another man over human trafficking concerns.

Home Office can deport migrant under 'one in one out deal', court says - after losing similar case on Tuesday news.sky.com/story/home-o...

UK court temporarily blocks removal of asylum seeker under UK-France returns deal www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-...

Austria's First Deportation of a Syrian Asylum Seeker Sets Alarming Precedent On July 7, 2025, Austria became the first EU country to deport a Syrian national to Syria since the start of the country’s conflict in 2011. The man, whose identity has not been made public, had his r...

Austria's First Deportation of a Syrian Asylum Seeker Sets Alarming Precedent syriaaccountability.org/austrias-fir...

More than 100 people detained for removal after arriving in small boats, says UK government Those held expected to be returned to France under ‘one in, one out’ scheme, but no one yet granted safe route to UK

More than 100 people detained for removal after arriving in small boats, says UK government www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

Appearing on Radio 4 this morning to comment on the government's proposal to remove judges from the asylum appeals process, I was followed by Jo White, Labour MP and chair of the Red Wall Caucus, who referred to immigration lawyers and said: "you see the ambulance chasers out there and I think for many solicitors it's a licence to print money..." Not only is this a terrible insult to hardworking immigration lawyers and advisors across the country, it's a fabrication; ignorant & careless commentary like this suggests Ms White does not understand the sector and is probably bereft of any real ideas. That she is happy to go on national radio and use the sort of language known to fuel discontent in the hope that this plays out well at the next election, putting the legal profession and NGOs at even more risk than already faced, is appalling. If I was unsure whether these new plans are an attack on the judiciary, Ms White leaves us in little doubt. And it's not just the judiciary, it's the legal profession. That a Labour MP has no regard for the rights of people within its borders, for our democracy, or for upholding the rule of law, is deeply troubling.

Jacqueline McKenzie says on X this morning that asylum appeal changes announced by the Government are an attack on the legal profession and deeply troubling x.com/JacquiMckenz...

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This article examines the impact on legal processes of the need to use interpreters, drawing examples from refugee status determination procedures in the United Kingdom. It describes the roles played by interpreters in facilitating intercultural communication between asylum applicants and the administrative and legal actors responsible for assessing or defending their claims at the various stages of those procedures. The UK authorities' somewhat naïve expectations about the nature of the interpretation process display little understanding of the practical dilemmas that interpreters face. Much of the confusion and many of the barriers to communication created by the involvement of interpreters reflect the inherent untranslatability of particular notions, and so arise irrespective of the technical competence of the interpreters themselves. For example, dates may be reckoned using non-Gregorian calendars; terminologies for family relationships and parts of the body may be incongruent between the two languages; and there may be no exact indigenous legal equivalents to UK notions such as 'detention' or 'rape'. Different interpreters may therefore give different, though equally legitimate, translations of such terms, creating apparent 'inconsistencies' in the resulting translated accounts. Given the centrality of notions of credibility in asylum decision-making, even quite trivial divergencies over such matters may prove crucial.

Interpretation, Translation, and Confusion in Refugee Status Determination Procedures by Professor Anthony Good www.ein.org.uk/blog/interpr...

📣UPCOMING EVENT: We’re proud to be co-hosting the North West Migrants’ Rights Conference 'Humanising the rhetoric: through law, communities and understanding' with @gardencourtlaw.bsky.social on 30 September 2025.

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UK Plans AI Experiment on Children Seeking Asylum The United Kingdom’s announcement on July 22 that it would use AI face-scanning technology to evaluate whether an asylum seeker is under age 18 threatens to harm children seeking refuge.

UK Plans AI Experiment on Children Seeking Asylum
www.hrw.org/news/2025/07...

Medical Justice’s first immigration detention annual review highlights ongoing safeguarding failures New report documents how vulnerable people continue to suffer harm and inadequate care in UK's detention centres

Medical Justice’s first immigration detention annual review highlights ongoing safeguarding failures www.ein.org.uk/news/medical...

Appointment of Lord and Lady Justices of Appeal - Courts and Tribunals Judiciary Find out who the new appointees are and read their biographies

Mr Justice Dove, President of the Immigration and Asylum Chamber of the Upper Tribunal, is among six new Court of Appeal judges www.judiciary.uk/appointments...