Yet again, evidence shows that the government’s persecution of migrants is based on lies. The government must stop this performative cruelty against survivors of modern slavery: provide safe routes and safeguard those fleeing exploitation. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

No shit Sherlock

Our dedicated and inspirational Managing Director, Naomi, has decided it is time to hand the baton to someone new. 📣 We're looking for our next Managing Director, to build on the work that has come before, and to lead Social Workers Without Borders into our next phase.

70,000 cases is roughly 90,000 people - some of whom will be stuck in asylum accommodation while waiting for their appeal to be processed. Taking into account withdrawals, around 6 in 10 appeals are now successful.

I’m so ambivalent about cases being withdrawn before appeal hearings. On the one hand, it’s good for the Home Office to recognise its mistakes and rectify them without going to a hearing. On the other, decisions are often withdrawn sometimes as little as a week before the hearing. By that point… 🧵

Last year I was in Chicago and I made some sort of a joke to a taxi driver about loutish teenagers being largely harmless and he responded with a story from a week earlier about ducking behind his car during a shootout. The idea that London is more dangerous than any given US city is madness.

‘Since the US-brokered ceasefire was announced on 10 October, Israeli forces have killed more than 360 Palestinians in Gaza; according to a UN official, at least 70 are children… On average, Israeli weapons now kill seven people a day’ www.theguardian.com/news/ng-inte...

Challenging misinformation around migration is essential right now, so please support @migrantvoice.bsky.social who do a brilliant job of giving clear, evidenced info.

If somebody had to travel 250 miles for a medical appointment then yes there’s a problem but the taking a taxi ain’t it

Dismal framing. Every aspect of most asylum seekers’ lives is controlled & paid for by the Home Office. They can’t work, are told where to live & have no autonomy or dignity. So they aren’t *choosing* to use taxis & don’t need to be “banned” from doing so. The HO just needs to get its act in order.

So the Home Office, which is responsible for the welfare of asylum seekers & for determining their claims, has decided to call them “illegal migrants” & tell everyone it’s “furious” about them being here, but I’m sure this is fine and not a symptom of a culture of disbelief & gratuitous cruelty

So how exactly are they meant to get to them? Many are placed in areas without accessible transport links. They can't afford to pay for journeys themselves because of how little support they get. Yet again Labour choosing to pander to Reform than think of consequences. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

At least 160,000 people have been granted refugee status over the past five years. It now seems they are intended to be caught by the Government’s plans to make refugees wait up to 20 years for settlement - even for those just months away from ILR www.thetimes.com/article/6f83...

"Instead of looking at the decade and a half of underfunding of public services, we're being told that the people coming in are the problem". #Asylum #shabanamahmood @laurenhstarkey.bsky.social & SohailJannesari @goldbergradio.bsky.social @bylinetimes.bsky.social podfollow.com/byline-podca...

Incredibly kind words but, for what it’s worth, if you ever see me on TV or hear me on the radio and think I did a good job, you should know I probably messaged @danielsohege.bsky.social right beforehand to ask for advice. They’re truly one of the smartest, kindest and most generous people out there

Mahmood: REFUGEES TO BE PROHIBITED FROM HAVING FUN FOR 20 YEARS

I’ve tapped the sign a thousand times, but here I explained once again that the government saying Albania is safe doesn’t mean it would actually be safe for families to be sent back. Edi Rama is right to challenge Mahmood on her discriminatory singling out of one community.

This isn't new, Mahmood is just the latest in an increasingly long line of Home Secretary's, and others, to actively stereotype and dehumanise Albanians in the UK. It is rhetoric which has actively worsened the situation for many trafficking victims. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

🔴Shabana Mahmood’s Asylum Plans Will Put Human Trafficking Victims at Risk, Warn Anti-Slavery Groups Leading anti-slavery organisations have told Byline Times that the new measures could allow trafficking and forced labour to thrive bylinetimes.com/2025/11/19/s...

What will it take for this government to stop playing games with people’s lives? When these plans were trailed over the weekend, we were able to reassure our young people that they wouldn’t apply to anyone already here. Now, we’re told they WILL apply retroactively.

I made an appearance on Talk TV last night and discussed the idea of a “safe country” and why safety is something only individuals can decide, not government policymakers. (Spoiler alert: we’re talking about designated safe countries, so you know I’ll be talking about Albania)

“It’s a policy that doesn’t account for the reality of human experience and the reality of what people go through that forces them to need to leave their country.” @laurenhstarkey.bsky.social talks #Asylum with @goldbergradio.bsky.social @bylinetimes.bsky.social podfollow.com/byline-times...

I spoke to @goldbergradio.bsky.social for the @bylinetimes.bsky.social podcast yesterday about Shabana Mahmood’s new asylum proposals and the Labour’s government’s incredibly bleak, uncharitable view of the British public.

Asylum Control? Or Cruelty? Reaction to #ShabanaMahmood migration plan with Sohail Jannesari and Lauren Starkey @goldbergradio.bsky.social @bylinetimes.bsky.social podfollow.com/byline-times...

Everyone understands who is most happy about this, and why they are.

This Govt has yet again failed to learn that performative cruelty neither reduces the number of people who need protection nor appeases those driven by hate. People fleeing for their lives need stability and security to rebuild, especially after being forced to leave behind everything they know.

For fairly obvious reasons when people flee their countries of origin to seek asylum elsewhere they can't carry much. Often things like jewellery are all they have to hold onto. This isn't just stripping people of "assets", it is stealing their memories. 57/ www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

Just so we're clear, Labour has an absolutely ludicrous majority - when they do horrible shit, it's because they want to; nobody is making them.

Every time I hear a politician say that an issue is “dividing” this country they always then come down on the side of the right wing view of it. Just once I’d love to hear someone say “this issue is divisive, which is why I’m making the argument that kindness and compassion is important”

Anyway join.greenparty.org.uk

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.

Human rights are universal - if we start stripping away basic human rights from any section of society then none of us has rights – just privileges that can be taken away by people in power whenever they want

And the worst part is, he’s absolutely spot on. Labour isn’t seeing off the threat from Farage; they’re laying the foundations that Reform will build from in government.

‘what if torture and inhumane and degrading treatment was fine sometimes’ – the Labour Party

The underlying idea is that a normal life, where you can feel safe, settled and plan for future, is a luxury that only some deserve. An awful slippery slope of inhumanity. Which of our rights will crumble next? I never want to hear anything about a 'proud history of blah blah blah' ever again. 🤦‍♀️😞

Another feature I've noticed amongst those defending/supporting the proposed policy on refugees: not just a failure of empathy, but a kind of antipathy. That is, not only can they not put themselves in the place of the refugees, but they actively differentiate themselves. Refugees become non-human.

It's never illegal to claim asylum.

This is exactly what they're saying

This is literally the point of offering people protection. They are talking about undermining the entire principle of refugee status and punishing people for having the misfortune of being forced to leave their country. I cannot imagine a more callous, cruel thing to think, let alone say out loud.

To reiterate, this is about making life immeasurably more miserable and stressful for some of the most vulnerable people, in the almost certainly vain hope of winning over the votes of racists. Anything more shabby and shameful is difficult to envisage.

This is a morally bankrupt Labour Party that cares about nothing but their tanking poll numbers. All sense of morality and good governance thrown out the window in favour of “but Reform!”. Here’s the thing - if you’re already behaving like Reform, why should anyone care whether it’s you or them?

This is utterly foul. People recognised as refugees will never able to settle and find the long-term security they need to recover, always at risk of being returned if they can’t prove they still *really* deserve to be here. A life lived in permanent limbo. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

🚨🚨🚨 Our new report on hotel accommodation drops today. These hotels are not 5*. Here's the proof. Relying on testimony from clients, photos & medical evidence, you can now see the awful reality of hotel life. More updates throughout the day so watch this space. www.ramfel.org.uk/asylum-hotel...

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

It's almost as if you focus solely on "stopping small boats", instead of making it safer and simpler for people to seek asylum in the UK, along with protecting victims of gangs, that every piece of expert advice will be proven right and routes will just shift. #r4today www.bbc.com/news/article...

75 years of respect for human dignity and autonomy, of restraints on how the state can treat people, of internationalism over authoritarianism and fascism. You can see why the right hate it

FfT has published 'A Place to Heal' a powerful report centring the voices of those in asylum housing & exposing the devastating harm it causes to survivors. The solutions are simple: ✅ Better quality & faster asylum decisions to manage numbers ✅ Locally-tailored, well-resourced housing

The UK govt is just sitting out confronting this guy’s lies And worse than that, they drive traffic to his site by posting on it!

Adding: 4. Introduce a meaningful route to long-term protection for trafficking survivors via the NRM instead of forcing them into the asylum system.