NCADC Blog: : Page 2

Why campaign?

Published by NCADC on October 16, 2013 | Leave a response

NCADC is a national human rights organisation, founded in 1995, which supports community-led campaigns for justice in the asylum and immigration system, with a focus on supporting people’s campaigns for their right to remain. NCADC provides free and confidential advice, resources and training on campaigning to stay in the UK, to individuals and groups. We advise on the benefits and risks, campaign strategies, non-public campaigning options, and we help promote public campaigns. We do not provide legal advice, or run campaigns for people. Instead, we provide individuals and groups with information about campaigning, tools to get a campaign started, advice Read the full article…

Announced with hateful rhetoric, what does the Immigration Bill actually mean?

Published by NCADC on October 15, 2013 | 1 Response

Described variously as “ugly, divisive politics” (Sarah Teather MP), a “valuable tool for racist landlords” (Maurice Mcleod), “meandering popularism” (John Harris) and “immigration policy that has lost even any semblance of correlation with reality” (Dave Stamp of ASIRT), there’s a lot to digest (or spit out, disgusted) in the new Immigration Bill. In this latest post, NCADC’s legal volunteer Jacqueline analyses the major policy changes, and the responses they have provoked. A new Immigration Bill has been published by the Home Office, aimed at making it tougher for migrants to settle in the UK. The changes will include reducing appeal Read the full article…

The big news from our Annual General Meeting

Published by NCADC on October 11, 2013 | Leave a response

The NCADC Annual General Meeting on Saturday was the most significant meeting since the coalition was founded in 1995. Following consultations earlier in the year, members voted to change the name of the organisation, and to amend the constitution to apply for charitable status. We launched the second edition of our Campaigning Toolkit, and attendees heard from inspiring campaigners, took part in a training workshop, discussed campaigning strategies, ate some wonderful food and chatted with friends old and new. Fighting for human rights, and celebrating solidarity The day opened with a welcoming address from NCADC Chair Romain Ngouabeu. Romain is Read the full article…

Campaign for Syrian refugees at port of Calais

Published by NCADC on October 4, 2013 | 1 Response

As more and more people flee the war in Syria, a small number of refugees have managed to reach Europe, seeking sanctuary. Around 65 Syrian refugees are staging a blockade of the Calais ferry terminal, demanding to speak to a representative of the UK Home Office. Some are on hunger strike. Last month at the G20 meeting in Saint Petersburg, David Cameron said that responding to the war and displacement in Syria was “…a moral imperative. This is the big refugee crisis of our time.” And yet the UK refuses to offer sanctuary to Syrian refugees. It’s time that the Read the full article…

Events: October and November 2013

Published by NCADC on September 29, 2013 | Leave a response

NCADC Conference and AGM Saturday 5 October 2013; London 10:30 - 5pm Praxis Community Projects, Pott St, London, E2 0EF All members, supporters, and friends of NCADC are invited to join us. The day-long event will include a review of the year, celebration of campaigns for justice, learning and information-sharing, plans for the future, and food, music and friendship. We are delighted that the (free) lunch will be provided by the wonderful women at Spice Caravan - a group of seven mothers from five different countries who met through their children’s primary school. Remember to book your place in advance. More Read the full article…

Campaign launched to stop deportations from Yarl’s Wood

Published by NCADC on September 26, 2013 | 1 Response

With investigations into sexual abuse at Yarl’s Wood ongoing, a campaign has been launched to stop deportations from the detention centre. Migrant Artists Mutual Aid, Liverpool, have launched a campaign to cancel the deportation of one of their members, Amina, who is detained in Yarl’s Wood and scheduled to be forcibly removed to Pakistan on Tuesday 1 October. Amina, who is seeking sanctuary in the UK from domestic violence, is an active member of the Liverpool women’s group. She is also - like every other Yarl’s Wood detainee - a potential witness with valuable evidence to give in the police Read the full article…

“The women in Yarl’s Wood are fighters”: from the Home Office demo

Published by NCADC on September 23, 2013 | 1 Response

This weekend, the Observer newspaper reported that three more women have come forward to corroborate the allegations of sexual abuse of detainees by officers at Yarl’s Wood detention centre: The women – one who is currently inside the centre and another who left in July – claim to have witnessed guards touching women inappropriately, and allege that guards gave detainees the impression they could help with immigration cases in return for sexual contact, and breached company policy by entering women’s rooms at night. NCADC is opposed to all immigration detention. It is a form of violence against migrants, and this Read the full article…

What next for the legal aid campaign? Stop the residence test!

Published by NCADC on September 23, 2013 | 2 Responses

In our blog post of 6 September - Legal Aid Consultation: next steps - we set out the latest form of the Government’s legal aid proposals including some clarifications and concessions in relation to the residence test and the availability of judicial review. While it is encouraging that the objections of various campaign groups and professional bodies has been heard, the proposals which remain on the table could have very damaging consequences. Find out more about why the legal aid campaign is not yet won, in this post by NCADC legal volunteer Jacqueline. Residence Test As set out in ILPA’s Read the full article…

Forced removals: what we’re up against and what you can do

Published by NCADC on September 17, 2013 | 1 Response

This is the edited text of a talk given by Lisa, NCADC campaigns coordinator, at the ‘Going Back? Forced removal and voluntary returns’ conference organised by Christians Aware and After18 in Leicester, 14 September. Contents: Numbers and countries Removal and deportation When can someone be removed How the removal/deportation process works Removal of refused asylum seekers Charter flights What can be done I’ve been asked today to speak about forced removals from the UK. NCADC campaigns against injustices in the asylum and immigration system – and this doesn’t just mean trying to stop flights. When we refer to ‘forced removals’, Read the full article…

Shut down Yarl’s Wood. End immigration detention. Protests Weds 18 Sept

Published by NCADC on September 17, 2013 | 1 Response

End detention of migrants. Shut down Yarl’s Wood and all the other immigration prisons. Yet another story of abuse at the Yarl’s Wood immigration prison - this time the sexual abuse of detainees by Serco guards - has prompted protests to demand the closure of the centre, and calls for a full public enquiry. See below for details of the protests. NCADC is opposed to all immigration detention. We believe that imprisonment can never be justified as a means of migration control. Around 30,000 people enter detention centres like Yarl’s Wood every year. And now the government has announced 600 Read the full article…