We're deeply concerned about the UK government's proposed changes to settlement. These plans are incompatible with the UK’s international obligations and would push migrants, refugees and stateless people towards insecurity, poverty and exclusion. 👇

The government’s plan to make refugees ‘earn’ protection by proving their ‘contribution to society’ makes their safety and stability in the UK dependent on their economic ‘worthiness.’ These are men, women, children & families who have fled conflict, torture, trafficking & extreme violence. 🧵

Children need their families. Refugee children are no different. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Refugee homelessness has risen 400% in just four years. Instead of fixing the crisis, the government is cutting support for people seeking asylum and refugees, leaving more people on the streets. Safe housing is a human right & the Home Office is failing to protect it.

Labour peer @alfdubs.bsky.social is right to call for the restoration of family reunion rights so that children in need of protection can reach the UK. In the year ending June 2025, 93% of family reunion visas went to women & children, over half to children. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

What is particularly concerning about detention under the UK–France scheme is the combination of harms 1/

This performative hostility helps no one. In our experience, people seeking asylum rarely use taxis for medical appointments & the £6 a week they receive for travel is entirely insufficient to access medical care, food & education. 1/3 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

The government’s plan to make refugees wait up to 20 years to settle in the UK would leave people stuck in limbo, unable to properly put down roots, build careers, pursue education or feel a sense of belonging. Research across Europe shows that long-term uncertainty doesn’t support integration 🧵

The Bibby Stockholm exposed the profound harm caused by forcing people seeking asylum into unsafe, unsuitable large sites. Though the barge closed a year ago, the same cruelty continues in ex-military camps. We need #CommunitiesNotCamps www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

"Immigration detention: A mental health crisis without borders" by Reem Saifeldeen -- a new Refugee Mental Health and Place blog is out. #RefugeesWelcome🧡 An important read: www.kcl.ac.uk/immigration-...

The government’s proposed asylum & settlement reforms would have profound & damaging consequences for children’s rights, wellbeing & long-term integration. Yet the government has failed to make an assessment of their impact on children. refugeechildrensconsortium.org.uk/briefing-on-...

Refugees need stability & security to recover from profound trauma. But the government's asylum reforms will force them to re-prove their need for protection every 2.5 years for up to 20 years before they can settle in the UK. We're already seeing the impact of this on our clients' mental health 🧵

Ex-military barracks & hotels are NOT suitable sites to house people seeking asylum in the UK, who have experienced unimaginable trauma. Protests like these only deepen fear & make already-vulnerable people feel even less safe. We need #CommunitiesNotCamps www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

We work with thousands of asylum seekers every year. None have ever said they chose to seek safety in the UK because of hotel accommodation. If the Home Sec thinks this motivates people, she needs to actually consult with asylum seekers and expert organisations. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

It costs: 💰 £144.98 a night to house someone seeking sanctuary in a run-down repurposed hotel 💰 £132 a night to ship them to an isolated, traumatising military camp OR 💰 £23.25 a night to let them live in an ordinary, safe, community home

People seeking asylum get just £6 a week for travel. The Home Office says that's enough for “one return bus fare a week”. But one trip clearly ISN'T enough to access medical care, food & education. People seeking asylum in London urgently need free bus travel. www.helenbamber.org/resources/re...

The NAO’s report shows the issues we’ve raised for years. Successive governments have made kneejerk, short-term (cruel) changes that have ‘shunted problems elsewhere’. This has harmed people’s real lives, with survivors forced to spend years living in limbo & poverty: www.nao.org.uk/reports/an-a...

On #HumanRightsDay today, we celebrate 75 years of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) & 25 years of the Human Rights Act. For generations, these frameworks have protected people’s dignity & safety, limited the misuse of power & upheld fairness. But they are currently under threat 🧵1/5

Shipping people off to military land in the middle of nowhere does nothing to solve the problems in our asylum system. It's a completely failed experiment in expensive cruelty - it shouldn't be delayed, it should be cancelled completely.

The young people we work with say it best. 🎥 Hear their voices. 🧡 Help us keep this community going. This week, your support can help keep these spaces alive. Every donation is doubled through The Big Give. donate.biggive.org/campaign/a05...

Finally reunited🧡 When Afghanistan fell to the Taliban, 10-year-old Arman* fled to the UK with his aunt and was separated from his parents & siblings. He waited YEARS for the moment he could hug them again. It finally happened a few weeks ago. No words can describe this.

The day after Home Sec announced a raft of punitive policies that deny refugees the safety & stability they need to rebuild their lives, @freedomfromtorture.bsky.social joins @helenbamber.bsky.social in challenging Govt’s failure to consult experts ahead of harmful changes to asylum housing policy

🚨 Today we’re in court challenging changes to the Home Office’s 'Allocation of Asylum Accommodation' policy which force more trafficking & torture survivors to share rooms with strangers. These were introduced with no consultation or warning. 🧵 www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home...

New govt measures won’t deter people fleeing danger but they WILL cause significant harm. Forcing refugees into decades of limbo, tearing families apart & restricting support in the name of 'deterrence' will only worsen mental health and leave people at risk. www.helenbamber.org/resources/la...

25 years ago, the Palermo Protocol provided the ‘gold standard’ definition of human trafficking & mandated governments to protect & support victims. But countries, including the UK, are falling behind in meeting those commitments. Read more: www.helenbamber.org/resources/la...

Every day, we support hundreds of survivors of trafficking & torture who could be impacted by the government's proposal to make volunteering as a condition of being allowed to settle in the UK. This is both immoral and impractical. 1/2 www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

This vital new report sheds light on the horrific conditions in asylum hotels. While families live in crowded, mouldy hotel rooms and are served substandard food, private companies pocket millions. It’s time to end the use of asylum hotels and invest in communities.

"I was isolated and it was very re-traumatising..." Our client speaks to @claudiahammond.bsky.social on BBC Radio 4's All in the Mind about his experience of being placed in an asylum hotel & the harmful impact it had on his mental health. 📻 Listen in! www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

Human being belong in communities, not camps. And our Government knows it. They said they'd shut the camps and stop wasting millions making people seeking sanctuary suffer - so why are they bringing this failed plan back now?

Children don’t stop moving just because safe routes are closed. But they do take riskier journeys. When the Government suspends vital safe routes, it leaves them with no choice but to turn to smugglers to reach their families in UK. Take action: act.safepassage.org.uk/email-home-s...

Legal advice is vital for survivors to navigate complex asylum systems. But many are unable to access it. Ambassadors for Change, a group of campaigners with experience of the UK asylum system, write about the barriers in getting free, quality legal advice 👇 www.helenbamber.org/resources/re...

Leaving the ECHR won't stop people risking their lives through Channel crossings but it WOULD harm the rights of both migrants in the UK & our wider communities. On 75th Anniversary of ECHR, we call on politicians to stop scapegoating & defend human rights. www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/poli...

This #StressAwarenessWeek we're highlighting what stress really looks like for young people facing displacement. It’s living with constant uncertainty, about where you’ll stay, who you can trust, and what comes next. @helenbamber.bsky.social

This is not who we are as a country – we should not be forcing children to grow up without their parents.  Read this new British Red Cross report, which shows why refugee family reunion is such a crucial lifeline. redcross.org.uk/about-us/wha...

Latest post from us: Migrant Help to provide training to staff after admitting trafficking policy breach | Monika Glowacka

Thousands of families, including more than 6,000 children, will be hit by the shutdown of a lifeline visa route that allows refugees to reunite in the UK, according to new analysis. Data projections from the British Red Cross show the impact of the pause. www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home...

Yesterday, a parliamentary committee report warned that housing people seeking asylum in large sites is harmful. The response? Today, the government announced plans to accommodate hundreds in two ex-military sites. This is cruel & inhumane. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

"It is unacceptable that significant amounts of taxpayers’ money is being used to house often vulnerable people in sub-standard accommodation." This is YET another warning that asylum accommodation is harmful & eye-wateringly expensive. Here's what the Home Affairs Committee report found🧵

⏰ One week before the deadline! ⏰ Applications are 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. 👇

Really worrying findings from @helenbamber.bsky.social on the suspension of the refugee family reunion route: ➡️ Families pushed towards smugglers ➡️ Children + partners left in danger ➡️ One of the few safe routes to the UK is closing #FamiliesBelongTogether 🔗 www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home...

Refugee family reunion saves lives. Last year, over half of those reunited were children fleeing dangerous situations & joining their parents. But the suspension of family reunion until next spring & plans to tighten rules afterwards could turn temporary separation into permanent loss for many. 1/3

"You are not the same person after you experience torture." Ambassadors for Change, a group of survivors of torture, trafficking & persecution, share their experiences & recommendations for better systems with the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture 👇 helenbamber.org/resources/re...

On #AntiSlaveryDay, let's remember that thousands of confirmed trafficking victims are still being left at risk. In 2024, only 4% were granted permission to stay in the UK, leaving 96% facing poverty & possible re-exploitation. Read our latest blog for more ⬇️ www.helenbamber.org/resources/la...

At our mobile clinic with @msf.org at RAF Wethersfield, 62% of patients seen in appointments faced severe mental distress, and 30% had suicidal thoughts. #CommunitiesNotCamps are vital for health 🔗 tinyurl.com/yux3w5xj @asylummatters.bsky.social @helenbamber.bsky.social @care4calais.org

REMINDER: Asylum hotels are NOT places of luxury. They are often dilapidated, squalid & overcrowded. Being forced to live there for months (even years) causes profound harm to people. Those seeking safety in the UK must be housed in communities where they can rebuild their lives with dignity. 👇📽️

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...

It is horrendous that people who come to the UK to seek safety after fleeing torture and trafficking, are met with further violence, creating more trauma. This is what happens when dangerous rhetoric and misinformation are spread, emboldened and legitimised. 1/2 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

The ‘Unite the Kingdom’ rally is a terrifying example of what happens when politicians create performative, divisive policies to appease the far-right. With over 100 orgs, we ask the new Home Secretary to end the scapegoating of refugees & migrants. 📜 www.refugee-action.org.uk/OpenLetterHo...

With 63 other expert orgs, we’ve written to the government to strongly oppose the reduction in the length of time newly-recognised refugees get to move on from asylum accommodation. This could leave thousands more refugees destitute & on the streets this winter. www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

We cannot stress enough how harmful asylum hotels are — contrary to the perception that they are 'luxurious'. They must be closed urgently but not be replaced with crumbling, overcrowded & isolated large sites.  Thanks @benchu.bsky.social for dispelling the myths around asylum hotels 👇