My students made me a card for our last seminar in Timely Topics in Political Philosophy

Thank you! Hope you're well :)

@lassethomassen.bsky.social you taught me politics and international relations when I was an undergrad at QM 2010-2013. I benefitted and learned a great deal from your teaching

Safe Passage are taking the government to court over their suspension of family reunion which tears families apart and closes down a safe route for refugees.

They need support to do this x

We’ll be facing the Home Office in court in just a few weeks to save refugee family reunion.

But we’re still short of our crowdfunding target. We're extending our campaign for a few more days. Will you help us close the gap? 🧡

Donate today: www.crowdjustice.com/case/stop-su...

It was a great honour to give this talk at the Refugee Studies Centre last month, you can listen to it here

JOB! I'm hiring a Senior Research Associate in Social and Political Philosophy as part of the ERC LEAD Project.

Deadline is May 3rd, and candidates would ideally begin in September 2026 or asap after.

Feel free to contact me with any questions - Share widely!

www.bristol.ac.uk/jobs/find/de...

Our thoughts are with the families and loved ones of the four people who have tragically died in the Channel attempting to reach safety in the UK. People who have escaped devastating wars and brutal regimes in countries like Sudan and Afghanistan are being driven into small boats by desperation.

May I please be added :)

Official statistics on #return, #deportation and immigration #detention procedures for 2025 in #Greece confirm the constant, arbitrary practice of imposing deprivation of liberty and deportation, even to countries where removal is neither permitted nor feasible.

👇
rsaegean.org/en/deportati...
(1/8)

The next refugee crisis It's a case of when, not if

Millions of people in Iran and Lebanon have been displaced. Tens of thousands have fled across borders. We know the next refugee crisis is coming, but are we prepared?

New post:

open.substack.com/pub/nicolake...

Two weeks ago I gave a talk at The Refugees Studies Centre on Grounding the Components of an Ethical Response to Refugees.

The talk is now available to listen to online x

www.rsc.ox.ac.uk/events/groun...

'Hillier-Smith’s book, in short, is an excellent contribution to an important debate; it is complex, morally persuasive, and original. Even those of its readers who are unconvinced by its conclusions are likely to find much of value in its arguments'.

The Ethics of State Responses to Refugees The concept of the refugee is currently under several distinct forms of pressure. Populists, in many wealthy states, have demonized the figure of the re...

My book has received this excellent review from Michael Blake in the Notre Dame Philosophical Review, with some really thought-provoking and fair critical comments.

Current issues & Future Directions in UK Asylum Policy Join the Centre for the Critical Reimagining of Human Rights (CCRHR) for a conversation with leading scholars on UK asylum and immigration policy from across the UK.

I'll be speaking at this event discussing the UK's responsibilities to refugees today.

scga.scot/2026/03/11/c...

🚨 New policy changes mean that every 30 months, survivors of torture and war will be forced to reapply for protection. MPs can challenge these changes - if enough of us speak out. Email your MP today!
https://ow.ly/rZ7550Yv8po


📷: https://ow.ly/zf0q50Yv8fG
Edited by Freedom from Torture

Chapter 9 on Rightlessness and Refugees!

Share your concerns about the government's new asylum plans The Government has announced major changes to the asylum system, which could lead to serious consequences for people seeking protection. We must show the government that these changes do not reflect w...

Campaign to oppose the recent proposals to halve the leave to remain for refugees, which will create serious uncertainty and anxiety for refugees as well as massively increase bureaucratic costs. Immoral and unworkable. refugee-council.yourmovement.org/p/early-day-...

'Grounding the Components of an Ethical Response to Refugees' – join us this Wednesday for an in-person public seminar with Dr Bradley Hillier Smith (University of St Andrews).

📍Oxford Department for International Development 
📅 5pm, 4 March
Registration not required

This week I will be giving a talk at the Refugee Studies Centre, Oxford on 'Grounding the Components of an Ethical Response to Refugees'

www.rsc.ox.ac.uk/events/groun...

On my way to Sicily to present my research on AI, Basic Income, and Migration at the Justice in the 21st Century conference.

Mia Valentina Paz Faria A 7-year-old from Venezuela who was living in Austin, Texas Detained for 70 days “I don’t want to be in this place I want to go to my school.”

UPDATE: Staff at the ICE concentration camp in Dilley, Texas have begun raiding the dormitories of kids and their parents to confiscate and destroy letters from the children. This is in response to the ace reporting by @micarosenberg et al for ProPublica:

“I don’t want to be in this place I want to go to my school.”

- 7 year old imprisoned by ICE for 70 days in a concentration camp in Texas.

Today, after @propublica.org published this story, the camp was raided to confiscate letters from the children.

www.propublica.org/article/ice-...

Stop the Inhumanity at Europe's Borders! - United Against Inhumanity What is it about? This campaign aims to bring together specialized organisations in the fields of humanitarian response, asylum and migrant rights in order to pressure European governments and relevan...

I, along with other academics and practitioners in refugee advocacy, have been working on a policy document with proposals for a more ethical response to refugees. We will be circulating it to policy-makers. It's available here

www.against-inhumanity.org/campaigns/st...

Universal basic income could be used to soften hit from AI job losses in UK, minister says Lord Stockwood says people in government ‘definitely’ talking about idea as technology disrupts industries

Universal basic income could be used to soften hit from AI job losses in UK, minister says www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

Spain Moves to Legalize Migrants, Defying Europe’s Anti-Immigration Trend Spaniards mostly view immigration as beneficial, although far-right opposition is rising.

Spain’s decision to give legal residency to potentially half a million undocumented immigrants shows the country is an outlier among Western democracies in treating them as an asset.

Back to teaching at St Andrews. This semester I am teaching Philosophy of Law and new module Timely Topics in Political Philosophy,where topics include Inequality & Extreme Wealth, Poverty & Homelessness, Free Speech & Hate Speech, AI and Job Displacement, Migration, and War #PhilSky

May I be added if I am not already please

After Trump Officials Cut Food Aid to Kenya, Children Starved to Death “Brutal and traumatizing”: Interviews and a trove of internal documents show government officials and aid workers desperately tried to warn Trump advisers about impending disaster and death.

NEW: Without USAID funding to help buy food for refugees, the World Food Program rushed to prioritize families based on need, determining that only half the population would get food.

Refugees learned which half they were in from a number stamped on the back of their ration card.

If i may shamelessly suggest my paper on the Egalitarian Case for Open Borders, Doing and Allowing Harm to Refugees, and Direct Injustices Against Refugees.

I'm following this thread for suggestions to add to my syllabus too! Would be very keen to see your syllabus once finalised

All the best x

Good to see a politician drawing attention to the conditions and treatment that refugees face.