Immigration, asylum and anti-deportation

This page brings together various anti-racist resources to learn about anti-racist movements, and arm yourself with ideas to beat back racism: readings and pamphlets, video and audio.

A vulnerable 21-year old Black autistic man named Osime Brown was jailed in 2018 and informed he will be deported upon his release to Jamaica. Osime is currently serving a five year prison sentence in Stoken prison for the theft of a mobile phone. A witness for the defence stated in court that Osime did not take part in the street robbery that was carried out in front of him by several youths, and said that in fact he had tried to stop them from taking the phone from the victim. It has since been found that Osime was convicted under "joint enterprise", a discredited legal rule that has...

With migrant workers making up the vast majority of recent Covid-19 cases in Singapore, there are renewed calls for the government to reduce Singapore's dependence on migrant labour. On the surface, this appears to be a progressive proposal, given that it is being made in response to the cramped and unsanitary nature of the migrant worker dormitories. In reality, however, these are xenophobic demands to reduce the number of foreigners and these demands have nothing to do with improving conditions in migrant worker dormitories. Many have compared migrant labour to a drug to which Singapore is...

The Conservatives’ Immigration Bill passed its second reading in parliament on 18 May. It will proceed to committee scrutiny, expected to run until 25 June. The Bill would end free movement with the EU and write a blank cheque for the Home Secretary, who will be able to create a new immigration regime with limited oversight. Plans published so far indicate an extension to EU migrants of the existing regime’s barriers and hostile treatment of “unskilled” (i.e. low-paid) workers. “Guest worker” schemes will facilitate hyper-exploitation and abuse by employers. Labour rightly whipped its MPs to...

Nadia Whittome MP tweeted straight after Johnson u-turned on charging migrant health and care workers to access the NHS: “Glad that the government has caved on the Immigration Health Surcharge for NHS and care staff, but nobody should have to pay extra for the NHS on top of the taxes they already pay. There are no good immigrants and bad immigrants. Healthcare is a right for all.” The whole Labour Party and labour movement should be demanding this. • Please sign and promote Another Europe is Possible’s petition

The Tories are trying to rush through their new Immigration Bill under the cover of the pandemic. The “second reading” in Parliament was announced at a few days’ notice as Monday 18 May. The Labour Campaign for Free Movement is calling on the Labour leadership and MPs to oppose the Tories’ xenophobia by standing up for the alternative: solidarity, equality and free movement for all. It asks supporters to: • sign the statement here calling on Labour to oppose the Bill • tweet a quick (less than 2 minutes) video of yourself talking about why you oppose the Immigration Bill, with the hashtag...

It’s Friday 13 March 2020. The UK has 789 confirmed cases of Covid-19. It is still 10 days away from a national lockdown that will stay in place for seven weeks, effectively shuttering large swathes of society. And the government has just removed the Foreign Office advice that travellers from Wuhan, Northern Italy, and other “hotspots” for Covid-19 should self-isolate for 14 days on arrival in the UK. The country now has no advice or restrictions on international arrivals to contain the pandemic. However, on 11 May, the UK government reversed its position, releasing guidance announcing that...

Fire Brigades Union activist and National Officer Riccardo la Torre (pictured above on an FBU solidarity delegation to Calais - on the left with his fist up) spoke to Sacha Ismail. Yesterday we had “Victory in Europe” day, and a lot of nationalism. What are your thoughts on it? Well, first off I’m angry that workers are dying because they’re at work and aren’t given proper protection, and yet the same “leaders” responsible want us waving Union Jacks. There’s immediate reasons to be angry too, because the day itself created a lot of unsafe conditions. I’ve seen blokes out selling Union Jacks...

As part of its lockdown, Australia has banned entry to everyone other than citizens, and compelled returning citizens to quarantine for 14 days in a hotel before going home. Now Kristina Kenneally, immigration spokesperson of the opposition Labor Party, has picked up on that to call for the conservative government to put tighter permanent curbs on immigration. “Do we want migrants to return to Australia in the same numbers and in the same composition as before the crisis? Our answer should be no”. Some Labor MPs have complained that Kenneally was freelancing, or finessed the question by...

The Tories have pulled their Immigration Bill from the House of Commons order paper, ahead of its second reading. Unfortunately the Liberal Democrats have been clearer and more vocal on opposing the Bill’s core thrust of ending EU-UK freedom of movement than the Labour leadership. The labour movement should fight for the Bill to be not just suspended but completely withdrawn. It should campaign for the Labour Campaign for Free Movement policy passed at Labour conference last year, to extend free movement and migrants’ rights not curtail them.