Here is the latest from Right to Remain – June update.

Legal Support as Community Power: Our Discussion on Asylum Appeals

A huge thank you to the 66 people who attended our Radical Solidarity Hub on asylum appeals on 29 April. We shared reflections on the pilot workshops with attendees from across the UK, including Bradford, Manchester, Leeds, London, Birmingham, Portsmouth, Bristol, Lancaster, Swansea, Glasgow, and Derry. It was evident that an enormous amount of legal support and solidarity work is provided by many small grassroots organisations for people facing asylum appeals. We will continue to run regular workshops on this topic in 2026/27, as more than 80,000 appeals are currently pending at the Tribunal. Please stay in touch if you wish to be part of this hub. You can read a summary of our discussion here.

Right to Remain Workshops in June

After a busy new staff induction period in May, Right to Remain is resuming our popular workshops.

• 4 June – Knowledge is Power: The Asylum System
• 4 June – Place-based Campaigns to Close Down Immigration Detention Centres: Campsfield and Derwentside
• 15 June – Building Collective Safety Against Racist Immigration Enforcement (as part of the Northern Race Equality Conference in Leeds)
• 25 June – Knowledge is Power: Asylum Appeals

We will announce the date of our monthly online Introduction to the Toolkit session shortly. This month, we will also be speaking at the Coalition to Close Campsfield fundraiser in Oxford and are working with KRAN’s English Conversation Class as part of our strategic work in Kent.

Solidarity Through Legal Support: 84% of Right to Remain’s Community are Non-Legal Practitioners, Taking Solidarity Actions that Improve Access to Justice for People Seeking Asylum, Refugees, and Migrants

Of the 1,127 groups that Right to Remain directly worked with and provided public legal education to between 2022 and March 2026, 949 (84%) are non-legal specialists supporting asylum seekers, refugees, and migrants to navigate the UK’s asylum and immigration system. We began analysing data from these groups to better understand the landscape of community-based legal support for refugees and migrants. While 16% (178 groups) who utilised our public legal education work have IAA accreditation or are legal practitioners (solicitors and barristers) and provide legal advice, the vast majority are non-specialists undertaking the often hidden work of providing legal support to people struggling to secure their immigration status amidst the ongoing legal aid crisis in the Hostile Environment. In response, we are now redoubling our efforts to explain the difference between legal advice and legal support and offering monthly Toolkit introduction sessions, as well as Toolkit outreach sessions to some organisations. We will continue our data analysis to share further insights in the future.

Welcome to Dermot, Pamela, and Nina, Our New Management Committee Members

We are delighted to welcome Dermot Morrow, Pamela Abdel-Baset, and Nina Navid to our Management Committee. Dermot has known Right to Remain since our time as the National Coalition of Anti-Deportation Campaigns and brings experience in charity governance. Pamela is a senior leader in a local authority, with a portfolio that includes work programmes supporting refugees and people seeking asylum. Nina brings a campaigning and legal background, including experience in a regulatory context. You can read more about them, as well as other members Melanie Griffiths, Callum Lynch, and Leslie Fesenmyer, here.

Solidarity is a Verb Series – Turning a Slogan into Action

As calls for solidarity grow louder to counter anti-refugee and anti-migrant sentiment, Right to Remain continues to explore how more people can show up in solidarity beyond marches, demonstrations, and social media posts. In this latest blog, written in response to the large mobilisation against the recent far-right march in London, we highlight grassroots initiatives outside London (where hostility is often harsher) that are crying out for your solidarity – please read and share. Previously, we have also written about what to consider if you are alarmed by ICE activities in the USA and wish to take action here to protect our community (spoiler: step up to support existing local community efforts!). Additionally, we have shared an in-depth look at anti-raids material, courtesy of Leeds Anti-Raids Action, which delves much deeper than simply obstructing an immigration van. Let us know what you think.

Right to Remain Team