Free Movement Weekly Immigration Newsletter #113 - Free Movement

Welcome to the weekly Free Movement newsletter!

An investigation published last week has found that ‘stop the boats’ policies have contributed to an increase in deaths in the Channel. Researchers from Border Forensics and the University of Bristol found that 197 people died or went missing in the Channel between 2019 and 2025, with 129 deaths in just the last three years. This rise in deaths came as the number of crossings and people arriving fell.

The report identifies increased overcrowding, with an average of 71 people per boat in September 2025, chaotic launches and more frequent and more violent police interventions. The UK has sent France over £625 million since 2018 to fund more police, equipment and surveillance on the French coastline. Both the British and French governments knew, or should have known, about the consequences of their policies. Ministers have acknowledged the death toll is high because more pressure is being put on gangs and that ‘effectiveness had harmful consequences, leading to an increase in deaths’.

Migrants Organise is calling for urgent and material changes to the provision of legal representation for people in the asylum system. A new report highlights that in early 2024 their rate for successfully matching people to a lawyer – including those who had confirmation they were eligible for legal aid – was as low as 1.3%. The asylum grant rate has been dropping in the last few years, leading to more appeals at a time when access to legal representation has been most challenging. This means many appellants are left to represent themselves at complex hearings. The report documents a number of cases where the Upper Tribunal has set aside First-tier Tribunal decisions as procedurally unfair where the appellants have been unrepresented.

The Home Office has put out a call for evidence on how the new independent appeals body should work. Paper-based or remote hearings would be the default, with new adjudicators from wide backgrounds (i.e. not necessarily lawyers) deciding cases. The Home Office wants to hear from practitioners, experts, charities, NGOs and all those involved with the appeals system. The call for evidence closes on 22 April.

Free Movement has launched a new podcast for members. In our first episode I’m joined by Lesley Nott from King’s College London where we talk about DNA evidence in immigration cases.

On the blog, the Special Immigration Appeals Commission has found that the Home Secretary can deprive someone of citizenship based on inferences of criminal activity. There was also a case on whether a convicted murderer can be excluded from protection under the Refugee Convention.

We have a helpful new guide on commencing children’s protection claims covering welfare interviews, interpretation, the streamlined process, the statement of evidence form and the substantive interview. We’ve also updated our briefings on whether asylum seekers can work in the UK and how to apply for an electronic travel authorisation.

For everything else on Free Movement and elsewhere, read on.

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Report: The importance of the move-on period for refugees, Refugee Council, 24 March 2026

Encouraging progress in inclusive health policies for refugees and migrants, World Health Organization, 26 March 2026

What the research says about the UK’s proposed immigration reforms, Open Democracy, 27 March 2026

EU offers UK ‘emergency brake’ on youth mobility scheme numbers, The Guardian, 29 March 2026

I’m an asylum seeker. I turned down £3,000 from the Home Office to leave the UK, The i Paper, 29 March 2026

Morning Call: Inside Labour’s escalating immigration feud, New Statesman Substack, 27 March 2026

How poor data hobbles Britain’s immigration policy, The Economist, 29 March 2026

‘My heart is in pieces’: How UK government’s migration policy shatters lives, Open Democracy, 24 March 2026