BIRCH Network

UK suspension of refugee family reunion scheme to be challenged in high court Judge allows Safe Passage International to launch judicial review of halting of right to bring in children and partners

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The govt's decision to suspend family reunion was shameful.
It's great @safepassageintl.bsky.social are challenging this in the courts, but the govt should not waste public money defending this policy. They should withdraw & let refugee families safely reunite.
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

New report calls for overhaul of flawed age assessment process for unaccompanied children - Free Movement A briefing on the National Age Assessment Board raises concerns about poor decision making in the age determination process, putting hundreds of children at

New from FM: New report calls for overhaul of flawed age assessment process for unaccompanied children | Jasmine Quiller-Doust

Opinion | I’m the Prime Minister of Spain. This Is Why the West Needs Migrants.

"We, as Western nations, must choose between becoming closed and impoverished societies, or open and prosperous ones." Pedro Sánchez in der @nytimes.com
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/04/o...

There’s still time to register your own views on these daft and damaging proposals

PM asks Sir Jim Ratcliffe to apologise for saying UK 'colonised by immigrants' Sir Keir Starmer says comments by the businessman and Manchester United co-owner are

So we have a billionaire, tax-avoiding owner of a football club literally *full* of migrants, wheeling out racist tropes straight out of the far-right playbook.

Jim & people like him are the problem, not the migrants working every day to keep our economy afloat.

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

Nurses’ families fear being torn apart in UK immigration crackdown, survey says Exclusive: Most people in charity’s study say they worry about being separated from relatives under Mahmood plans

This is a disgraceful way to treat anyone, let alone nurses who are the backbone of our NHS.

The government must rethink these vindictive and self-defeating proposals.

EU clears way for transfer of asylum seekers to unrelated countries A legislative change approved by the European Parliament will enable EU states to send asylum seekers to countries with which they have no existing link. #EuropeNews

"Offshoring" and "outsourcing" of asylum systems isn't new. We have plenty of data to show how incredibly harmful it is, including increasing human trafficking. Basically, it leaves be stranded in countries where they have no links, and often don't speak the language
www.euronews.com/my-europe/20...

Blue box containing the words "Submitting a response to the Government's earned settlement public consultation" with the logo "Praxis, for migrants and refugees"

🚨 Just THREE days left to tell the Government what you think of making refugees wait 20 years for safety 🚨

We cannot let these appalling plans go unchallenged.

Follow this guide from Praxis to make sure your voice is heard.
www.praxis.org.uk/consultation

📣 The deadline for the Home Office’s public consultation on new immigration proposals is on the 12th of February. This ‘earned settlement’ model would have a huge impact on migrant communities such as the Latin American community (1/3)

300,000 children face 10-year wait for settled status under UK plans, says IPPR Thinktank analysis says proposed ‘earned settlement’ changes could trap families in prolonged insecurity

"The proposals would extend insecurity for families, with damaging consequences for integration, educational opportunities and child poverty." @ippr.org

Pushing more people onto this punishing route will only entrench the hardship people in our community already face. This is not the answer.

Care leaver paid £15,000 by local authority that wrongly disputed his age - Community Care How a charity helped a young asylum seeker win compensation from a local authority after it wrongly disputed his age

We're so pleased for Amir* that he got justice for all he endured, although we know that no amount of money can truly compensate the hardship he faced.

His story is yet another example of how harmful age assessments can be, isolating and endangering the lives of young people who should be supported

Over 300,000 children already living in the UK could face 5–10 extra years before they can settle permanently.

Changing the rules mid-journey will likely increase child poverty. Latest from us 🔗 www.ippr.org/articles/far-from-settled-the-governments-earned-settlement-consultation

Changes to earned settlement risk deepening child poverty The government must publish an impact assessment of its settlement reforms before going ahead with the changes.

New research shows 1.35m people already living in the UK would face a longer qualifying period for settlement under changes planned by the Home Office, including over 300,000 children

Government must publish an impact assessment before going ahead with these reforms, writes Labour MP Olivia Blake

UK and France asylum deal could violate human rights laws, warns UN Experts identify potentially serious breaches over treatment of people and call for ‘one in, one out’ scheme to end

UN experts have called for the 'one-in-one-out' human trading scheme to be scrapped after serious abuses of people on the scheme, and the detention and removal of children and torture survivors.

300,000 children face 10-year wait for settled status under UK plans, says IPPR Thinktank analysis says proposed ‘earned settlement’ changes could trap families in prolonged insecurity

Good to see some Labour MPs showing a backbone, but the problems with these proposals on settlement aren't limited to being applied retrospectively: they also favour the well-off, discriminate vs disabled people, women & people with caring responsibilities and are probably unworkable

300,000 children face 10-year wait for settled status under UK plans, says IPPR Thinktank analysis says proposed ‘earned settlement’ changes could trap families in prolonged insecurity

⚠️New @ippr.org research: 300,000 children will be hit by the Govt’s earned settlement plans.

Retrospective changes will deepen child poverty, block access to higher education & trap families in years of uncertainty.

This is precarity by design.

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

UK and France asylum deal could violate human rights laws, warns UN Experts identify potentially serious breaches over treatment of people and call for ‘one in, one out’ scheme to end

As with so many of Labour's inhumane anti-asylum policies, the one in one out policy has, from the start, undermined protections for trafficking and modern slavery victims, breached human rights, and put lives at risk. It has no merit, and should be scrapped.
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

Big news! @bma.org.uk now advising doctors not to engage with Palantir's NHS data platform! They say there must be a "complete break from Palantir technologies in the NHS", due to the company's track record, e.g. with ICE, and the risk to patient trust. www.bmj.com/content/392/...

Deaths in Boat Disaster in English Channel Were Avoidable, Inquiry Finds

More than 30 people trying to reach Britain in a small boat were left to drown over several harrowing hours because of failures by rescue authorities, an inquiry has found

The incident in November 2021 is the deadliest known small boat disaster in the English Channel
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/05/w...

Government proposals to make settlement (Indefinite Leave to Remain) harder to access will directly harm migrant women who are victims/survivors of VAWG and exploitation (1/2)

@sbsisters.bsky.social @evawuk.bsky.social & Hibiscus.

Loss of life was 'avoidable' in deadliest ever Channel migrant boat sinking, inquiry finds More than 30 people died trying to make the journey from France to the UK in the early hours of 24 November 2021.

One survivor told the inquiry that they were treated differently because they were refugees. This led to delays in the search and rescue mission.

This is yet another tragic example of why racialised assumptions and racist rhetoric is so dangerous – it costs lives.

news.sky.com/story/loss-o...

Shabana Mahmood defends immigration reforms amid Labour opposition Around 40 Labour MPs have raised concerns about the impact of the government's proposals.

The proposed changes to immigration rules would be devastating, not just for migrants but also the whole country. They risk creating an entirely unworkable and discriminatory system which would push even more migrants into destitution and undermine whole sectors.

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

Call to Allies: Complete the ‘Earned Settlement’ Consultation - Migrants' Rights Network New 'earned settlement' proposals left members of our Network feeling incredibly distressed. We're calling on allies to respond.

Please fill out this consultation on the "earned settlement" immigration proposals in the UK, which would see many people waiting 20 or 30 years for settled status in the UK and even then having "no recourse to public funds" despite working and paying tax. migrantsrights.org.uk/2026/01/29/e...

Brook House reported 76 use-of-force incidents in March 2025 alone - an average of two every day - alongside routine use of handcuffs and isolation.This is concerning given that the Brook House inquiry found 19 instances of human rights breaches in 2017.

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home...

'If you are listening, I need you to understand - silence is not neutral.' - These Walls Must Fall statement on the Earned Settlement proposals Last week on 22 January 2026, Right to Remain hosted our Radical Solidarity Hub - Safety is not conditional: organising in response to the Earned Settlement proposals. The session was co-delivered with...

"They don’t just delay settlement, they delay recovery. They delay stability. They delay family life. They delay healing. They delay dignity."

A brilliant explanation of everything that's wrong with the horrifying 'earned settlement plans':
righttoremain.org.uk/if-you-are-l... "

With fellow organisations at CLAUK, we've collaborated on a guide regarding the Earned Settlement consultation to facilitate the public's participation and have their say on these proposed changes. (1/2)

Vote HOPE | Help Stop Reform UK in your area In May 2026, Reform UK will try to turn their recent gains into lasting local power. But together, we can stop them.

Today we launch Vote HOPE 2026: a local organising effort to stop Reform UK from winning power in the May 2026 elections.

It focuses on simple, community-based actions that increase turnout and challenge Reform’s message where it matters most.

Join us: hopenothate.org.uk/vote-hope/

Border staff who 'stole cash from small boat migrants' are bailed Officials appear in court charged with stealing from small boat arrivals and money laundering.

How low could they go?

'A group of immigration officers accused of stealing from people that arrived in the UK on small boats have appeared in court together. The 6 border officials are charged with money laundering and 5 are further accused of misconduct in public office and conspiracy to steal.'

Government unsure how many NHS staff will be affected by immigration changes Labour announced proposed changes to immigration rules last year

The Govt admits it doesn’t know how many NHS staff will be impacted by settlement changes.

What does that mean for NHS waiting times, care for elderly, and patient safety?

Pushing ahead without considering the impacts on healthcare is a betrayal to us all.

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/poli...

Zero net migration would shrink UK economy by 3.6%, says thinktank Jump of £37bn in budget deficit by 2040 would force government to increase taxes, NIESR predicts

Zero net migration would shrink the UK economy by 3.6% by 2040.

Less growth means higher taxes and weaker public services.

For our economy and communities to thrive, we need migration - alongside simple, quick and affordable routes to settlement.

www.theguardian.com/business/202...