MiCLU
micluteam.bsky.social
MiCLU
@micluteam.bsky.social
The Migrant and Refugee Children's Legal Unit based at Islington Law Centre. Working for the rights of migrant and refugee children and young people. https://miclu.org/
Reposted by MiCLU
If, like me, this utter betrayal by Labour is making your blood boil, can I ask you let them know your feelings here www.gov.uk/government/c...
Earned settlement
The government is consulting on how the current settlement system should be reformed and how those reforms should be implemented.
www.gov.uk
November 20, 2025 at 2:55 PM
Reposted by MiCLU
We already see the devastating impact of 20 year routes on individuals. They need scrapping, not more people forced onto them. Any of us can find ourselves needing help at some stage. Pushing people into more debt and misery because they do is unjust and discriminatory.

www.bbc.com/news/article...
Some migrants to face 20-year wait for settled status
Shabana Mahmood says becoming part of the UK is "not a right but a privilege – and one that must be earned".
www.bbc.com
November 20, 2025 at 1:48 PM
In 2018 young people on the 10-year route lodged judicial review claims challenging refusals to grant settlement. Their claims documented the devastating impact of the 10-year route on young people & resulted in a major govt concession. Govt proposals today to double this route are punitive & cruel.
Home Office media release on new settlement rules.

5 years to settlement for family members of British citizens; BNO Hong Kong visas + public sector workers

Keir Starmer's government proposes 15 year, 20 year + even 30 year settlement routes: deliberately off the charts of any precedent anywhere
November 20, 2025 at 2:23 PM
Reposted by MiCLU
Lots of Labour MPs asking Mahmood tonight to rule out child detention. She won’t rule it out. That’s because forced removals of families will mean children in detention for periods.

Home Office ruling out deportation of lone minors but the changes will certainly mean more detention of children.
November 17, 2025 at 8:32 PM
Reposted by MiCLU
Who knows the asylum system best?
People who've been through it.
Who shapes policy?
Often everyone BUT them.

Change this.

📖 Read & sign to commit: asylos.org/call-to-acti...

#LivedExperienceMatters
November 13, 2025 at 11:17 AM
Reposted by MiCLU
The gov’s new asylum plans are the harshest yet.
🛑 Just 30 months’ leave — no long-term security
🛑 Family reunion blocked — loved ones kept apart
🛑 No duty to support the destitute
🛑 Safe routes only for workers/students
We know what young people need to rebuild: stability, safety, belonging.
November 17, 2025 at 3:30 PM
Join our team! We are looking for an experienced immigration solicitor to join our innovative and friendly immigration team at the Migrant and Refugee Children's Legal Unit (MiCLU), based at Islington Law Centre. For more info see here: miclu.org/get-involved...
November 17, 2025 at 1:55 PM
Illegal migration isn't tearing the country apart. Racism is tearing the country apart. The young refugees we work with desperately need to heal and move forward in safety. They deserve to build a future. They cannot do this if their stay is only temporary and they live in the shadow of removal.
November 17, 2025 at 9:45 AM
Reposted by MiCLU
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.
November 16, 2025 at 12:55 PM
Reposted by MiCLU
🤢🤢🤢
In 2024, there were 463 complaints specifically about the meals provided in asylum hotels. Can you guess why?
Read more about the reality of hotel life in our new report. #ProfitingfromPeople
👇👇
November 11, 2025 at 11:12 AM
Reposted by MiCLU
From last week: Briefing: immigration and nationality options for children in care | Nath Gbikpi
Briefing: immigration and nationality options for children in care - Free Movement
This post looks at the options for regularising the immigration status of a child in care. Some options are open to all children, while others are
freemovement.org.uk
November 7, 2025 at 10:30 AM
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
Guide & template: Using Upper Tribunal case ES (UI-2025-000360) regarding trafficked men as a PSG in Albania (November 2025) - Migrant & Refugee Children's Legal Unit
Click the link below for a guide and template for seeking permission to cite the recent unreported Upper Tribunal decision in ES (UI-2025-000360). The Home Office frequently argues that male victims o...
bit.ly
November 6, 2025 at 2:15 PM
More than 50 lone child asylum seekers who disappeared in the care of Kent county council are still missing. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
More than 50 child asylum seekers still missing after disappearing from Kent care
Council data obtained by the Guardian shows 345 children have gone missing in recent years, many probably taken by traffickers
www.theguardian.com
November 3, 2025 at 1:15 PM
Reposted by MiCLU
New from FM: Age assessments: what happens when a child arrives in the UK? | Francesca Sella
Age assessments: what happens when a child arrives in the UK?  - Free Movement
The Home Office does not publish statistics regarding children who are wrongly assessed as adults on arrival nor regarding the number of initial age
freemovement.org.uk
October 20, 2025 at 2:39 PM
In our new factcheck “Albanian victims of trafficking in the UK: a breakdown” we look at how the UK government managed to drive down the grant rate for Albanian asylum seekers and is returning recognised trafficking victims there, despite a documented lack of protection.
Albanian victims of trafficking in the UK: A breakdown - Migrant & Refugee Children's Legal Unit
Breaking the Chains is a unique project designed to meet the specific needs of asylum-seeking children and young people from Albania, as one of the most marginalised communities of asylum seekers, by ...
bit.ly
October 20, 2025 at 12:18 PM
Reposted by MiCLU
This is not an anomaly - it’s an echo of the injustices we saw in Windrush.

A UK‑born child denied a British passport and asked to prove her right to NHS care is a stark reminder that UK policy still fails Caribbean communities and basic principles of equality.
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
‘Clear parallels’ with Windrush as UK-born toddler denied passport
Campaigners say lessons not being learned as three-year-old’s mother is asked to prove right to free NHS treatment
www.theguardian.com
October 13, 2025 at 9:40 AM
Reposted by MiCLU
Urgent call to action: help free Arjeta — a survivor of trafficking being deported righttoremain.org.uk/urgent-call-... #TheseWallsMustFall #Nooneisillegal #MigrationisLife
October 13, 2025 at 12:35 PM
Reposted by MiCLU
In case you missed it: Appeal partly allowed in child refugee family reunion policy challenge | Sonia Lenegan
Appeal partly allowed in child refugee family reunion policy challenge - Free Movement
The Home Secretary must carry out a review of the policy on refugee family reunion for child refugees under the now closed Appendix Family Reunion (Sponsors
freemovement.org.uk
October 10, 2025 at 3:32 PM
Reposted by MiCLU
From last week: Briefing: is the modern slavery identification system in the UK being misused? | Sonia Lenegan
Briefing: is the modern slavery identification system in the UK being misused? - Free Movement
The Home Secretary has claimed (as have many of the last several of them) that the modern slavery identification process is "being misused" and has used this
freemovement.org.uk
October 6, 2025 at 9:32 AM
Highly recommended exhibition! Featuring artwork from super creative young people and running from 1 October to 19 December, pop in to Oxford House near Bethnal Green tube between 10am to 6pm Monday to Friday to catch this inspiring show.
We are excited to invite you to the Pathways Art Show!

The Pathways Art Show is a showcase of artwork from the young people on our Pathways programme. The show features mixed media creative work including paintings, poetry, masks, textiles and paper marbling.

www.kazzum.org/pathways-art...
October 2, 2025 at 2:54 PM
The idea that any of the young people we work with have a 'golden ticket' through being recognised as a refugee in the UK is to deny the very nature of the mistreatment, trauma, separation from family and loss of the protection of their home country which qualifies them as refugees. bit.ly/4nSRpxi
Starmer to end asylum ‘golden ticket’ of resettlement and family reunion rights
People granted asylum will have to earn right to invite family in plan charities say is ‘straight from populist playbook’
bit.ly
October 2, 2025 at 1:58 PM
Reposted by MiCLU
The current visa system already leaves many migrants facing poverty, working multiple jobs, as they pay the often tens of thousands of pounds in costs.

Proposed changes from this government continues the dehumanising treatment of us as we are treated as second class.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Shabana Mahmood to demand migrants earn right to settled status
New tests will include learning English to a high standard, paying National Insurance and not claiming benefits.
www.bbc.co.uk
September 29, 2025 at 2:51 PM
Reposted by MiCLU
The Home Office's own guidance recognises that survivors of #ModernSlavery often delay disclosing their experiences, yet policies still penalise them for doing so. Instead of treating this as a suspicion, the government should focus on protection, not punishment and hostility.
September 26, 2025 at 10:40 AM
Reposted by MiCLU
This story was on R4 this morning. For me the fact that this kid has spent 9 of her young 12 years of life on Asylum Support at £5-6/day in deep persistent poverty. 15000 children like her are growing up on Asylum Support each year. But no that wasn't the story. It was why are ppl taking taxis.
glimps into kid's experiences: 12yo 'says she wants to engage with the protesters and is frustrated the hotel staff won't allow her: "Me and my friends have always wanted to go up to them and speak to them face-to-face. What is their problem with the kids as well?"'
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Behind the doors of asylum hotels - what I found when I went inside
A BBC reporter goes into four hotels and speaks to asylum seekers and staff about what daily life is like.
www.bbc.co.uk
September 24, 2025 at 7:16 AM
Reposted by MiCLU
The right to provide vital public services is being stifled by the far-right and by cowardly politicians. We are providing services for all kinds of people and a threat to us is a threat to everyone doing similar work. We will keep going because we believe in the right to care for each other.
More than 150 lawyers and refugee NGOs report being ‘pressured into silence’ by far-right protesters.
At least two groups supporting UK asylum seekers have closed their offices after credible threats to their safety
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
More than 150 lawyers and refugee NGOs report being ‘pressured into silence’ by far-right protesters
At least two groups supporting UK asylum seekers have closed their offices after credible threats to their safety
www.theguardian.com
September 22, 2025 at 10:32 AM