Latest news with #asylumseekers
The Independent
a day ago
- Business
- The Independent
Keir Starmer told to reclaim the narrative on immigration
TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak is urging the left to reclaim the progressive argument for a controlled migration policy, criticising both Keir Starmer 's recent statements and the dangerous and false claims of Nigel Farage and Reform. Nowak's intervention comes amid a heated debate on immigration, with Farage claiming Reform is the party of the workers and Starmer accusing Reform of economic plans that would cause a Liz Truss-style economic meltdown. Nowak calls for proper funding for the Fair Work Agency to combat exploitative employers and for a more humane asylum system that allows asylum seekers to work and contribute to the economy. He argues that the British public is not anti-immigration but anti-chaos, rejecting a system that feels unfair and out of control, with long waiting times for asylum cases and underinvestment in local services. Nowak advocates for solutions such as trialling humanitarian visas to allow people to apply for asylum legally from abroad, criticising cruel policies like the Rwanda plan.
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- General
- Daily Mail
BREAKING NEWS The boats are BACK: At least eight Chinese asylum seekers are ‘dropped off by Indonesian fishing boat' in remote part of Australia
Eight suspected asylum seekers have reportedly been detained by authorities in a remote part of Australia after arriving by boat.
Telegraph
4 days ago
- General
- Telegraph
Migrants who lie about dissidence can delete social media to return home
Asylum seekers who use social media accounts to falsely demonstrate their opposition to their country's regime can have them deleted to enable them to return home, a tribunal has ruled. Claimants from countries such as Iran and Iraq have been known to start attending demonstrations opposed to their home regimes and posting political statements on Facebook after they arrive in the UK. They then argue that these posts will put them at risk if they are returned to their home countries, which have a history of tracking protesters via their online activities. Now an immigration tribunal has said an asylum seeker can be asked to delete their account in order to return home if it is found the beliefs expressed are not 'genuinely held'. The explanation came in the case of an Iraqi asylum seeker whose application was refused by the Home Office in 2022 on the grounds his credibility was 'adversely affected' by inconsistencies in his account. He appealed to a lower-tier tribunal but his case was dismissed and he was told he could delete his Facebook account, which showed him at various anti-regime protests. The tribunal concluded that the Iraqi had 'no political profile' and his social media had not been monitored by the state so he could delete his account and safely return to Iraq. 'Not a political man' He appealed and claimed he had shown opposition and criticism of his country's government on a Facebook account he opened once he was in the UK. This included videos of him at demonstrations outside the Iraqi embassy, advertising protests linked to a Kurdish support group, and posting about corruption. He argued that these would put him at risk if he returned to the country, where people have previously been targeted for their social media activism. He claimed the lower-tier judge had made a legal error by not considering whether his political opinion was genuine. However, the hearing was also told that he had said in an asylum interview that he was 'not a political man'. The Home Office also argued that there was no evidence the posts had been seen in Iraq, so he was free to delete his account and return. Lucy Murray, an upper-tier tribunal judge, concluded that the lower chamber should have made a ruling on whether the asylum seeker's beliefs were not genuinely held before requiring him to delete his social media account. Because it had not determined this fact, the case needed to be reheard by the first-tier tribunal. Judge Murray said: 'An [asylum seeker] can only be expected to delete their account if it does not reflect a genuine political belief... [His] Facebook posts showed his attendance at a number of demonstrations and posting about corruption in Iraq. That was evidence of political activity. 'It was of course open to the first-tier tribunal to find that these activities were not the expression of a genuine political belief that he would be obliged to conceal to avoid persecution but such a finding was a prerequisite to the conclusion that he could delete his Facebook account.'
BreakingNews.ie
5 days ago
- General
- BreakingNews.ie
Suspect in fatal knife attack at German festival admits killings as trial starts
The suspect in a knife attack at a festival in the German city of Solingen has gone on trial on murder and terrorism charges, and acknowledged his guilt as the proceedings opened. Three people were killed in the August 23 attack at a Festival of Diversity marking the 650th anniversary of the city in western Germany. Advertisement The Syrian man, who has been identified only as Issa Al H in line with German privacy rules, was arrested a day after the attack. He is charged with three counts of murder, 10 counts of attempted murder and membership in a foreign terrorist organisation, the so-called Islamic State (IS) group, in the trial at the state court in Duesseldorf. There are no formal pleas in the German legal system. But the suspect admitted responsibility for the attack in a statement read by his lawyers, German news agency dpa reported. 'I have brought severe guilt upon myself. I am prepared to accept the verdict,' he said. Advertisement 'I killed innocent people, not infidels.' The Solingen incident was one of several deadly attacks in the months leading up to Germany's national election in February that involved immigrant suspects, pushing migration to the forefront of the political agenda in that vote. It highlighted problems with returning rejected asylum-seekers to the first country where they entered the European Union, as is supposed to happen under EU rules. The suspect was supposed to be deported to Bulgaria in 2023 but reportedly disappeared for a time and avoided expulsion. Advertisement Murder charges carry a maximum sentence of life in prison in Germany. The Duesseldorf court has scheduled trial sessions until late September.
Bloomberg
5 days ago
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Reform UK's Farage to Vow Benefit Hikes in Attack on Starmer
Nigel Farage is extending his bid to win over traditional Labour voters by announcing that his party would scrap a controversial limit on child benefits and fully reinstate utility-bill subsidies for the elderly if it came into power. The Reform UK leader is set to hold a press conference Tuesday morning during which he will claim the policies would be funded by abandoning net-zero emissions pledges, getting rid of accommodation for asylum seekers and shaving expenditures on quasi-government agencies — known as quangos — by 5%.
