Hello everyone,

Welcome to your first autumn newsletter.  

Over summer, we witnessed a significant escalation of anti-migrant rhetoric and activity. This is deeply concerning –  not least, because it is linked to the rapid rise of an increasingly aggressive, well-organised and well-funded far-right. This is a ‘Battle of Cable Street’ moment, when looking away is not an option. The time to fight for migrant justice and human rights is now.

The outside world might seem irreparably gloomy and the last thing you might want to read about is more bad news. So, in addition to a rather abysmal news section, this issue is packed with exciting events and campaigns to fuel your fire and spark some joy.

Stay connected
🧡 Building a movement for migrant justice is the only way we can win. Join us! and share this newsletter with friends and family.
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👋 Get in touch: [email protected] – it’s always a pleasure to hear from you.

In solidarity,
Anne

WFMA update

Waltham Forest Welcomes Refugees

At the end of August, we had a stall at the St James Big Street Local summer fair. The sunshine brought lots of people to Stoney Down Park and we had some interesting, heartwarming conversations with many local residents. It felt like such a positive day.

We worked with Together With Refugees to organise a solidarity initiative, which showed the strength of support for refugees in Waltham Forest. Huge thank you to those who joined us, to our volunteers and to Bekele Woyecha, Together With Refugees Deputy Director for helping out on the day.  


Film Screening 

You should have received an invitation last week to our November event. We are really excited to partner with Stories and Supper and the William Morris Gallery on the screening of Name Me Lawand – a poignant film about a five-year-old boy on a quest to find a world where there are people like him. Having undertaken a treacherous journey with his family from Iraq to Derby, Lawand, who has been profoundly deaf since birth, soon finds his new life under threat when the family face deportation. 

We will also show ‘Caring Together Against the Hostile Environment‘ – a short film about a recent project exploring networks of care for refugees in London. 

📆 Thursday 06 November 

📍 William Morris Gallery.

🍹 Refreshments and Welcome talks from 6.30pm

🎬 Screening at 7.00 pm

🎫 Tickets £10/ £5 concessions can be purchased here  … Hurry – they are selling fast!


💃🏾 Connections in Sound 

On 11th December, we will celebrate International Migrants Day like never before. We have been working behind the scenes on a what is shaping up to be a fantastic musical journey. The event will take place at the Trades Hall, one of Walthamstow’s most eclectic venues. Our stellar line-up will be announced very soon and you will be the first to hear about it! For now, just save the date.  

Don’t Panic, Organise

In these are dire times, it’s easy to feel deflated and powerless. But up and down the country people are organising for change in many different ways.

Building Hope 

When the far-right staged a ‘rally’ in central London on 13th September, few people had expected to see such shockingly high numbers – nowhere near as high the numbers attending Palestine Solidarity marches, mind you, but still – the highest in decades. In response, Hope Not Hate  have  launched a huge petition to set a ‘record of hope against hate’. We know we are many, but we can no longer afford to be silent. Make your voice heard.

Reframing the narrative

You will no doubt remember the PM’s infamous speech at the launch of the Immigration White Paper (IWP), where he proclaimed: ‘we risk becoming an island of strangers’.  This led members of the Migrants Rights Network to establish the migrant-led campaigning group ‘Not a Stranger’. In the coming months they will:

  • Gather further evidence and information on the impact and potential issues with the IWP proposals. For this purpose they launched a survey for migrants.
  • Raise awareness of the IWP and this group among migrants across the UK
  • Public events to raise the profile of the campaign and encourage others to share their concerns and join the campaign
  • Engage and influence MPs and relevant politicians with stories and evidence from those affected

If you are impacted by the changes in the Immigration White Paper, or want to stand in solidarity with those who are, you can sign up to join the ‘Not a Stranger’ campaign group here.  

Speaking out

Over 100 organisations wrote to the Home Secretary to express their collective dismay at the never ending list of hostile, anti-migrants policies. 

You’ll of course remember how misinformation spread like wildfire about the so-called ‘asylum hotels’ – we wrote about it in our July newsletter. In August, we signed onto a Good Jobs Firststatement, alongside Migrants Organise, Refugee Action, RAMFEL, Haringey Welcome, Conversation Over Borders and Citizens UK to help shed some light on the reality of accommodation for people seeking asylum.

Upcoming events

  • 14th October: Waltham Forest Anti Raids Network (WARN) is hosting an open meeting, from 6.30 – 8.00 pm. Email [email protected] for more details.
  • 18th October: National Day of Solidarity to End Immigration Detention. The day is co-organised by Right to Remain, These Walls Must Fall and No To Hassockfield Campaignto raise awareness about the prison-like conditions that thousands of people are forced to endure because they do not have the right passport and to push for the dismantling of immigration detention centres.
  • 19th October: Migration Vibrations, Pulse & Pickle, E17.
  • 25th October: UKIP have announced they are planning to ‘reclaim Whitechapel’ – apparently! Anti-fascist groups and individuals will be organising a counter demonstration. You can join the WhatsApp chat – see QR code on flyer (above).
  • 2nd November: Peter Ashan, our legendary WFMA trustee, will be leading the Chingford North Freedom Walk.
  • 3rd November: Migrants Rights Network are hosting Bordering surveillance: Challenging criminalisation of racialised migrants, Doughty Street Chambers, WC1. 
  • 6th November: WFMA, Stories & Supper and the William Morris Gallery screening of Name Me Lawand. 
  • 8th November: Migrants Rights Network screening of Crossings at Pelican House, E15.
  • 27th November  – 3rd December: London Migration Film Festival. 

Countering misinformation

If you hear something often enough, it becomes true. So much so, 47% of Brits now wrongly believe that most migration to the UK is “illegal.” The word “illegal” is not in our vocabulary. We use “undocumented” or irregular”, because we don’t believe that any human being is “illegal”. Besides, while some people are forced to use irregular ways to come to the UK, such as ‘small boats’ or hidden in the back of lorries, the vast majority of people move here through legal routes — work, study or family reunion, all of which are being recently restricted. Yet, because “small boats” dominate the headlines, public understanding is shaped more by sensationalism than facts.

To find out more about the importance of the language we should use when talking about migration, Check out Migrants Rights Network project: Words Matter. 

You may have noticed a sharp increase in couriers being stopped by police on the streets of Waltham Forest. Ever wondered what it would feel like to be a courier? Find out, in this courier’s account. 

In the News 

The political context significantly shifted over summer. We heard extreme interventions from Reform UK. Nigel Farage MP announced a Trump style mass deportation plan and claimed that migrants are eating swans and carps – sound familiar? As well as a mass far-right rally, that brought over 100,000 people to central London, St George’s flags appeared en masse flying from lampposts or painted on roundabouts. Meanwhile, the government has been on the back-foot, responding to these attacks with more draconian anti-migrant policies.

Asylum Appeals

Former Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper MP, began an overhaul the asylum appeals system to expedite cases brought by people whose claims have been turned down – replacing judges with ‘professional adjudicators’. The decision came on the back of the Bell hotel legal ruling, that could force the closure of hotels housing people seeking asylum. The government is still embroiled in a dispute with Epping Forest District Council over the closure of the Bell hotel, after the Council applied to appeal the interim injunction. A hearing for a full injunction will take place in the High Court between 15 and 17 October. 

“Move-on’ period reduced

When someone is granted refugee status, they lose their right to asylum support accommodation and have to ‘move-on’. In December 2024, the government piloted an extension from 28 to 56 days, to allow people additional time to find new housing, a job and open a bank account. In August, however, they reverted back to 28 days, which is nowhere near enough time for anyone to get organised and risks pushing more people into destitution.

Family reunion suspended

To make matters worse, the government decided to suspend one of the only safe routes left: family reunion. With only a few days notice, they stopped all new applications. Right to Remain hosted a solidarity session, where we heard the heartbreaking testimonies of families torn apart. 

New Home Secretary – same old policies

Then came the government reshuffle, which put a new Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood MP, in charge of ‘smashing the gangs’ and ‘stopping the boats’. New Ministers were also announced, Alex Norris MP, Minister for Border Security and Asylum, and Mike Tapp MP, Minister for Migration and Citizenship. 

In her conference speech, which was mostly about immigration, she set out Labour’s plans to change the current framework for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR), as per the Government’s Immigration White Paper released earlier this year. There was a lot of emphasis on a ‘contribution’ as a condition of welcome, plans to increase the standard qualifying period from 5 to 10 years and the introduction of new tests based on being in work, including National Insurance contributions, higher English language requirements, ‘truly giving back’ to your community – i.e volunteering, and no criminal record.

The government is creating categories of ‘deserving’ and ‘undeserving’ migrants based on arbitrary requirements. This will allow some people to apply for ILR earlier based on their so-called ‘contributions’, while others would have to wait longer and some would even be banned from getting ILR altogether, causing more uncertainty for people who have already been through so much.

A consultation about these changes will be announced at the end of the year and we will work with others to respond … but all in all it’s looking very bleak.