I shared some of my thoughts on the relationship between the EU, search and rescue NGOs, and the so-called Libyan coast guard in a conversation with Frey here:

Rescue ship shooting: Where is the EU’s red line with Libya?

Everybody knows the Libyan Coast Guard is involved in the mass abuse/torture/murder of people in Libya. Over the years this hasn't been enough for the EU to break off its partnership. The LCG is now targeting NGOs - apparently that used to be a Commission red line, but we'll see if it still is.

Frontex pays out hundreds of millions of euros every year to EU and Schengen member states. We have visualised the data to show the scale and scope of the funding: more than €2 billion between the beginning of 2008 and the end of 2024. Read it here: buff.ly/Tto3m1L

The 9th issue of the #ExternalisationBulletin is out now 🚨 It covers: • The extensive operations across Africa; • Plans to use development aid as leverage for deportations; • Budget proposals with more external control and less democratic scrutiny; And much more. Read here: buff.ly/K5esfCb

“Ultimately workers and employers both need to know that the workers have the option to withdraw their labour and find another job, and won’t lose their immigration status or risk destitution if they are unable to work" - @focusonlabour.bsky.social, in this new piece by @freylindsay.bsky.social

Kate Roberts @focusonlabour.bsky.social says the Employment Rights Bill (due back in parliament) “won’t do much” for seasonal workers. She says it's essentially incompatible with Labour’s commitment to improving labour standards. ✍️ @freylindsay.bsky.social

Migrant workers’ legal precarity reveals the incompatibility of Labour’s policies on worker’s rights and immigration. How seasonal workers continue to face exploitation as the visa scheme expands ✍️ @freylindsay.bsky.social ⤵️ www.opendemocracy.net/en/beyond-tr...

In the last months I've been speaking with young people, NGOs and influencers in Nigeria about how online gambling and gambling scams are exploding - with thousands of young Nigerians (many underage) falling into serious gambling problems and addiction www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w...

For the World Service, I've been speaking with people struggling with gambling problems in South Africa. NGOs and researchers also told me how Covid and cost-of-living crises have seen an alarming amount of people turning to gambling, just to make ends meet. www.bbc.com/audio/play/w...

Last week the Greek government announced an unlawful asylum suspension for people arriving from N. Africa. Now the new migration minister is pushing a bill to send rejected asylum seekers to prison if they don't return to their home country or Libya. Thanks to @manos.ms and @adrianatdn.bsky.social‬

"New deterrents” are not the solution. This new deal will cause considerable further harm, resulting in the forcible transfer of people back to France. Read @vickytaylor.bsky.social's new piece for @opendemocracy.net :

IMIS and #SFB1604 member @mauricestierl.bsky.social commented to EUalive on the EU's migration control strategy: Framing migration across the Mediterranean as “instrumentalized” might serve as “an attempt to justify further derogations or restrictions on asylum on this route.”

Mitie, a major player in UK immigration detention, has just been awarded $192m to run the infamous Campsfield immigration prison when it reopens later this year. This makes a certain sense - it was Mitie's running of Campsfield which saw it shut in the first place. www.forbes.com/sites/freyli...

For ‪@eualive.bsky.social: EU Migration chief Brunner has begun talking about the 'weaponisation' of migration from Libya to the EU, orchestrated by Russia and Belarus - suggesting he may be considering invoking 'hybrid warfare' to justify harsher (or more openly harsh) methods in the Mediterranean.

Also reported by @freylindsay.bsky.social here: www.forbes.com/sites/freyli...

“If we don’t make it easier and more human for survivors, they won’t want to engage in these processes.” @Forbes covers our report on the barriers to increasing successful modern slavery prosecutions. www.forbes.com/sites/freyli...

I spoke with ex-PM Theresa May, now chair of the Global Commission on Modern Slavery, about their new report, the *steep* goal of eradicating slavery by 2030, the need for better understanding of underlying causes and how immigration politics just get in the way. www.forbes.com/sites/freyli...

Ten years on for the Modern Slavery Act and the results are in: protections are down, prosecutions never really got off the ground, and there are more people apparently in need than ever. www.forbes.com/sites/freyli...

Rare bit of good news for (some) refugees and advocates - Greece's top court has said Turkey is *not* a safe place to return asylum seekers. Not clear what that will mean in practice, given Greek state's intransigence on the matter, but it's worth noting. www.forbes.com/sites/freyli...

"Survivors of slavery are now under more pressure to provide more evidence ... it is harder to challenge a rejection and access help" We talk through the 30-day deadline for reconsiderations, + our report w/ @antislavery.org. Via @freylindsay.bsky.social @forbes.com: www.forbes.com/sites/freyli...

Taking a break from the normal migration stuff to talk about Linkrot, the internet's fading memory, distorted digital histories, Fela Kuti, the Internet Archive, lost media, a Japanese mixtape and legendary sports news site Grantland, among other things. www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

New EU returns (deportations) law expected this week - though the EC has been briefing it will not include 'return hubs,' people in Brussels I've spoken with suspect it may still pave the way for individual member states to pursue their own return hub arrangements. www.forbes.com/sites/freyli...

Seasonal Worker Visa holders currently have no realistic way to challenge poor working conditions, wage theft or sexual harassment in the workplace. The farming sector shouldn't be dependent on exploitation. Read what FLEX said to @forbes.com:

The European Court of #HumanRights is holding 3 hearings today concerning alleged “pushbacks” from Poland, Latvia and Lithuania to Belarus between 2021 and 2023. Some interesting background from @freylindsay.bsky.social via @forbes.com 👇 🔗 www.forbes.com/sites/freyli... #ECHR

In Marseille, France, nonprofit urban farms and volunteer grocery stores help poorer families cope with the cost-of-living crisis @freylindsay.bsky.social has the story for @contextnewsroom.bsky.social www.context.news/socioeconomi...

Not sure what to post here on the new bird app, but lest it be forgotten with the inevitable next tragedy: here's an investigation I worked on, casting doubt on the Greek coastguard's account of what happened in that shipwreck that killed hundreds: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-65942426