All eyes on the detention expansion plan

Our campaign to stop the UK government’s detention expansion plan kept us incredibly busy. While Ally took the lead in researching and writing, Maggy mobilised other lived-experience groups. The rest of us made sure we continued to do public legal education, strategic convening and organising. So far, we’ve supported our community to submit objections to the plan to expand Campsfield and Haslar detention centres (note, the latter has not even opened yet!) and of course submitted our own objection. Both planning processes have now turned into public inquiries. We have registered to intervene in the Campsfield plan public inquiry as an interested party and collated community experiences from across the UK to prepare our evidence. Our friend, Coalition to Close Campsfield, is also taking part in the public inquiry, as a formal, Rule 13 participant. We have more to share and invite you to join this fight – stay tuned. 

National Week of Solidarity to End Immigration Detention 19 – 26 October

Preparation for what’s now known as NWoS in our team is underway. We are excited to see a range of events taking shape; film screenings, panel discussions, art activities, a fundraising gig, embroidery, an event outside one of the detention centres… You can find the current line-up here, and we are likely to add a few more events soon. Let us know if you are joining us! PS We will be launching a new ‘merch’ during the Week. 

Building solidarity and safety against racism and the far right

We continue to stand up to widespread racism that tries to threaten and harm us. We penned a blog describing our direct experience of racist violence and our powerful response. We also organised a Radical Solidarity Hub in September to create a collective care space for nearly 70 people from 40 – 50 groups from all over the UK. Thanks to a special grant, we were able to organise nourishing wellbeing days in Liverpool and Manchester, so that our These Walls Must Fall lived-experience campaigners and their families and friends can spend time together to build safety in our shared solidarity. Recharged by that wonderful experience, we will continue to fight racism and the Hostile Environment.  

In case you missed them…

We completed some big pieces over summer and in September. We produced a new Young Persons Guide for young people in the asylum and immigration system. We updated our Key Guide on Immigration Raids and Enforcement, based on our community experience.  We summarised key changes to the Immigration Rules, including skilled workers’ visas and modern slavery, suitability rules, a fee waver, domestic abuse route etc. We published a new Destitution Key Guide, and we wrote about a Single Interview Process. We were also in Bradford to deliver an in-person Toolkit introduction session. We’d love to get your feedback if you have used our resources. 

Our Team Away Day – ‘We Are Right to Remain’

For the first time in months, our staff team was able to gather in one place to spend time together for reflection, animated discussions, plotting, swearing, and mutual support. We remain a tiny team of six people, but with three of us working part-time and the others separated across four cities, it is maddeningly hard to get everyone in the same place at the same time! Our session involved, among other things, fortune cookies (why not?) and a mini visioning exercise. Facilitating the session, I was struck by and pleased with the coherence of our attitudes towards, thoughts about, and ambitions for Right to Remain. We know we are unlike any other organisation in the migration justice field, and are proud of it. Our environment is harsh, but we have no intention of hiding. When we returned to work the following day, we amended one of the slides we use for all our workshops to introduce ourselves. We inserted our new team photo. Then, we changed the title of the slide from ‘Who Are Right to Remain?’ to ‘We Are Right to Remain’ – because we will define who we are and decide who we will be.

Right to Remain Shop is Open Again!

Our signature No One Is Illegal T-shirts are on sale again! You can also get our tote bags and (my favorite) Migration Is Life long sleeve shirts too. Visit our shop here!

A Big Thank You to Freddie and Welcome to Guy!

Over the summer, Freddie joined Right to Remain as a paid intern to do some vital work on the Toolkit. He was super-fast, meticulous, and did amazing work for us. In this blog, he reflects on his time at Right to Remain and what he takes away from the experience. And we are delighted that Guy Taylor will be supporting our campaigning work for the next few months! You can get in touch with him at campaigns(at)righttoremain.org.uk, if you are curious about what we are up to.

In solidarity, as always.

Eiri, Director, Right to Remain