MiCLU

Absolutely chilling. A borders and asylum minister who wants to "ramp up our appetite there." The government has completely lost sense of any compassion.

National Age Assessment Board Decision quashed in landmark judgment On 27 November 2025 the Upper Tribunal handed down judgment in ALK v Secretary of State for the Home Department and Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council (JR-2025-LON-000694).

National Age Assessment Board Decision quashed in landmark judgment - Catherine Meredith and Michael Spencer represented ALK and were instructed by Alex McMahon and Amir Faizi at Osbornes Solicitors LLP.

Santa 5km for Breaking the Chains Help Fund Raiser raise money to support Islington Law Centre

On 13 Dec we'll be running for our Breaking the Chains project. This year has been tough and the project struggles with simple things like travel costs for the young people & buying food for cooking sessions. With increased hostility, every bit of support is precious. Please donate:
bit.ly/4oDC43Z 🙏

The Government says these reforms are “for councils”, but councils themselves are warning they will cause real harm.

Southwark Council’s leader has said the Government’s new asylum plans are “deeply concerning” — increasing homelessness, traumatising children, and separating families.

Children are still going missing yet it is acceptable to house 16-and 17-year-old trafficking victims in so-called “supported accommodation”. The system disproportionately affects unaccompanied asylum-seeking and trafficked children. It is not working. Every child deserves to be safe and protected.

Earned settlement The government is consulting on how the current settlement system should be reformed and how those reforms should be implemented.

If, like me, this utter betrayal by Labour is making your blood boil, can I ask you let them know your feelings here www.gov.uk/government/c...

Some migrants to face 20-year wait for settled status Shabana Mahmood says becoming part of the UK is "not a right but a privilege – and one that must be earned".

We already see the devastating impact of 20 year routes on individuals. They need scrapping, not more people forced onto them. Any of us can find ourselves needing help at some stage. Pushing people into more debt and misery because they do is unjust and discriminatory.

www.bbc.com/news/article...

In 2018 young people on the 10-year route lodged judicial review claims challenging refusals to grant settlement. Their claims documented the devastating impact of the 10-year route on young people & resulted in a major govt concession. Govt proposals today to double this route are punitive & cruel.

Lots of Labour MPs asking Mahmood tonight to rule out child detention. She won’t rule it out. That’s because forced removals of families will mean children in detention for periods.

Home Office ruling out deportation of lone minors but the changes will certainly mean more detention of children.

Who knows the asylum system best?
People who've been through it.
Who shapes policy?
Often everyone BUT them.

Change this.

📖 Read & sign to commit: asylos.org/call-to-acti...

#LivedExperienceMatters

The gov’s new asylum plans are the harshest yet.
🛑 Just 30 months’ leave — no long-term security
🛑 Family reunion blocked — loved ones kept apart
🛑 No duty to support the destitute
🛑 Safe routes only for workers/students
We know what young people need to rebuild: stability, safety, belonging.

Join our team! We are looking for an experienced immigration solicitor to join our innovative and friendly immigration team at the Migrant and Refugee Children's Legal Unit (MiCLU), based at Islington Law Centre. For more info see here: miclu.org/get-involved...

Illegal migration isn't tearing the country apart. Racism is tearing the country apart. The young refugees we work with desperately need to heal and move forward in safety. They deserve to build a future. They cannot do this if their stay is only temporary and they live in the shadow of removal.

For an idea of what anti-refugee policies do to some of the most intensely vulnerable people in this country, I’ve been desperately sending this highlighted screenshot out to my young people to try and reassure them they’re not going to have their tiny semblance of safety ripped away from them.

🤢🤢🤢
In 2024, there were 463 complaints specifically about the meals provided in asylum hotels. Can you guess why?
Read more about the reality of hotel life in our new report. #ProfitingfromPeople
👇👇

Briefing: immigration and nationality options for children in care - Free Movement This post looks at the options for regularising the immigration status of a child in care. Some options are open to all children, while others are

From last week: Briefing: immigration and nationality options for children in care | Nath Gbikpi

We are grateful to Maha Sadar of @gardencourtlaw.bsky.social for sharing the written arguments she has developed for the purpose of creating a resource for colleagues. The guide and template (bit.ly/4qQqp4a) is available as part of our Albanian asylum claims toolkit: bit.ly/47G1cjV

The decision in ES directly engages with evidence contained in the Home Office’s own CPINs and fact-finding material, and finds that this evidence supports the proposition that trafficked Albanian men do in fact meet the statutory definition of a PSG.

The Home Office frequently argues that male victims of trafficking lack a “distinct identity” in Albania under the new definition of "particular social group" (PSG) contained in Section 33 of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022.

Guide & template: Using Upper Tribunal case ES (UI-2025-000360) regarding trafficked men as a PSG in Albania (November 2025) - Migrant & Refugee Children's Legal Unit Click the link below for a guide and template for seeking permission to cite the recent unreported Upper Tribunal decision in ES (UI-2025-000360). The Home Office frequently argues that male victims o...

Lawyers representing male Albanian victims of trafficking may find helpful this template for seeking permission to cite the recent unreported Upper Tribunal decision in ES (UI-2025-000360) which addresses whether trafficked men from Albania constitute a Particular Social Group: bit.ly/4qQqp4a

The Home Office frequently argues that male victims of trafficking lack a “distinct identity” in Albania under the new definition of "particular social group" (PSG) contained in Section 33 of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022.

"These children should be playing football in the park and preparing for their GCSEs, not servicing trafficking gangs in conditions we know include being chained to furniture, physically and sexually assaulted, and punished by being starved of food” - MiCLU solicitor Esme Madill.

Many of the missing children arrived in small boats or hidden in the backs of lorries and are thought to have been taken by traffickers. More needs to be done to find them and stop this repeating: "Their mental and physical health is permanently harmed by the abuse they experience during this time."

More than 50 child asylum seekers still missing after disappearing from Kent care Council data obtained by the Guardian shows 345 children have gone missing in recent years, many probably taken by traffickers

More than 50 lone child asylum seekers who disappeared in the care of Kent county council are still missing. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

Age assessments: what happens when a child arrives in the UK?  - Free Movement The Home Office does not publish statistics regarding children who are wrongly assessed as adults on arrival nor regarding the number of initial age

New from FM: Age assessments: what happens when a child arrives in the UK? | Francesca Sella

Albanian victims of trafficking in the UK: A breakdown - Migrant & Refugee Children's Legal Unit Breaking the Chains is a unique project designed to meet the specific needs of asylum-seeking children and young people from Albania, as one of the most marginalised communities of asylum seekers, by ...

While the grant rate has reduced sharply, nothing has changed on the ground in Albania. This politicisation of what should be evidence-driven case guidelines raises urgent questions about how the government may be complicit in the further exploitation of trafficking victims. bit.ly/4nYOAez

Albanian victims of trafficking in the UK: A breakdown - Migrant & Refugee Children's Legal Unit Breaking the Chains is a unique project designed to meet the specific needs of asylum-seeking children and young people from Albania, as one of the most marginalised communities of asylum seekers, by ...

In our new factcheck “Albanian victims of trafficking in the UK: a breakdown” we look at how the UK government managed to drive down the grant rate for Albanian asylum seekers and is returning recognised trafficking victims there, despite a documented lack of protection.

‘Clear parallels’ with Windrush as UK-born toddler denied passport Campaigners say lessons not being learned as three-year-old’s mother is asked to prove right to free NHS treatment

This is not an anomaly - it’s an echo of the injustices we saw in Windrush.

A UK‑born child denied a British passport and asked to prove her right to NHS care is a stark reminder that UK policy still fails Caribbean communities and basic principles of equality.
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

Urgent call to action: help free Arjeta — a survivor of trafficking being deported righttoremain.org.uk/urgent-call-... #TheseWallsMustFall #Nooneisillegal #MigrationisLife

Appeal partly allowed in child refugee family reunion policy challenge - Free Movement The Home Secretary must carry out a review of the policy on refugee family reunion for child refugees under the now closed Appendix Family Reunion (Sponsors

In case you missed it: Appeal partly allowed in child refugee family reunion policy challenge | Sonia Lenegan