Jesuit Refugee Service UK

Asylum is about protecting people. But the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act, which received royal assent this week, treats asylum as a border security issue. It continues the trend of criminalising people seeking sanctuary. It builds walls against refugees. We need something different.

Archbishop John Wilson visits the Jesuit Refugee Service UK | JRS UK

We were delighted to welcome Archbishop John Wilson to JRS UK, where he spent time with our refugee friends and the team earlier this week.

Read more and listen to what he had to say: www.jrsuk.net/news/archbis...

Supporting women in the asylum system | JRS UK

Our Casework Team walks alongside people seeking sanctuary through the challenges of being cut off from all support. Because our refugee friends are barred from support, they are often made vulnerable to exploitation and homelessness.

Read more: www.jrsuk.net/blog/support...

2. Expanding access to legal advice so that refugee friends can resolve their immigration cases more quickly.

3. Increasing capacity for specialist services – many of which are overstretched and unable to support everyone in need.

1. Ensuring immigration status never prevents someone from accessing support. Women experiencing domestic abuse are routinely excluded from vital protections simply because of how they arrived in the UK. This is unjust: everyone deserves to live free from violence.

Women seeking sanctuary often face particularly complex barriers – especially after having their asylum case refused.
Too often, immigration status becomes a barrier to safety. We believe the asylum system must be rooted in compassion and fairness. This means:

At JRS UK, we see every day how failings in the asylum system put women at risk. Each year, the #InternationalDayForTheEliminationOfViolenceAgainstWomen calls us to confront the many ways women are subjected to harm.

Want to learn more about refugee families’ experiences? Read the latest edition of Together: www.jrsuk.net/winter2025

Let’s make this Advent a season of hope and welcome. 💙

This Advent JRS UK is raising funds for essential practical support for refugee families. Your support matters more than ever.
👉 Donate: www.jrsuk.net/advent

There is an urgent need for a more compassionate asylum system – one that recognises the humanity and potential of every person: every woman, man, and child.

YouTube video by Jesuit Refugee Service UK Dame Rachel de Souza, Children's Commissioner, visits JRS UK October 2025

Hear what @childrenscomm.bsky.social had to say: youtu.be/eFcV7GVkRwM

Last month, the Children's Commissioner visited JRS UK to hear about the experiences of refugee families in the asylum system. Earlier this year, family reunifications were suspended. This week, new policies were announced that will inflict profound harm.

“The othering of children and families who have come from the most terrible situations – and talking about them as if they’re something different – is causing a huge problem. We need to speak out about that.” – Dame Rachel de Souza #WorldChildrensDay

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As we approach Christmas and recall the Holy Family’s own flight as refugees, we reaffirm our commitment to stand alongside others in opposing these policies and working for an asylum system that is humane, just, and rooted in solidarity with women, men, and children forced to flee their homes.

Pope Leo calls us to welcome, protect, promote, and integrate refugees. The Government’s decision does the opposite: it curtails welcome, undermines protection, and blocks integration. In so doing, it diminishes our common humanity and makes our society poorer.

These policies will inflict profound harm - not only on those accompanied by the Jesuit Refugee Service UK, but on all who seek safety here.

Today’s announcement by the Home Secretary marks an unprecedented and damaging departure from the UK’s long tradition of offering people sanctuary and the chance to rebuild their lives.

Interfaith Week is a moment to celebrate the diversity that characterises the UK - and is one of its greatest strengths. We’re united by shared values of humanity and service to one another, and we see those lived out every day.

At JRS UK, we’re proud to be a community of refugees, volunteers, and staff from many different faith backgrounds.

📢 JRS UK is looking for two full-time Fundraising and Communications Officers to join our team. You’ll be part of a mission that restores dignity, hope, and agency to people rebuilding their lives after displacement.

⏰ Deadline for applications: 1st December
💻 Find out more: lnkd.in/dsw6bdV

Children’s Commissioner visits JRS UK to hear from refugee families | JRS UK

Read more about the Commissioner's visit: www.jrsuk.net/news/childre...

During her time at the centre, Dame Rachel learned about the huge challenges faced by families navigating the asylum system, including food insecurity and malnutrition, unsafe accommodation, disruption to education, and the emotional toll of living in limbo for long periods.

The Commissioner shared: “It’s always so powerful to hear people’s stories. Today I met people who have been waiting for years and years. JRS UK and other organisations like this are holding lives together."

It was an honour to have Dame Rachel de Souza, Children's Commissioner for England, visit JRS UK yesterday to meet with refugee families and hear first-hand about the experiences of children navigating the UK asylum system. @childrenscomm.bsky.social

May each day we welcome people who have fled danger with warmth, compassion, and dignity - offering not just food or support, but friendship and belonging. Because no one should ever feel like a stranger when they seek safety.

After 2 years with JRS UK’s Communications team, Loddan reflects on a journey shaped by community, kindness, & genuine connection. 💙

In her farewell blog, she shares the lessons, moments, & people who made JRS UK a true community of hope.
🔗 www.jrsuk.net/blog/a-family-built-on-kindness-and-purpose

Successive governments' performative focus on tough immigration control is putting people at risk of modern slavery and trafficking. Enough is enough. We need laws and policies that protect victims, survivors, and people at risk of trafficking.

Many asylum seekers face a daily struggle with food insecurity and malnutrition, even with putting their children to bed hungry. This shouldn't happen. It doesn't need to happen. It must change.

Against the backdrop of a cost of living crisis and vaunting inequality, both in the UK and globally, we must create deep systemic change to eradicate poverty. At JRS, we work alongside people seeking asylum who are forced to live in absolute poverty.