Whatever Happened To Asylum In Britain

Refugees and asylum-seekers are high up on many people's political agenda. Even so, there is a remarkable lack of information. Who are these asylum-seekers? Aren't they almost all "bogus"? How do western immigration authorities decide whether or not they are genuine? Is the UN convention on Refugees out of date and in need of renegotiation? This book brings insider knowledge to the study of asylum in Britain today. It is based on visits to places where asylum seekers are detained, on working with lawyers representing asylum-seekers and on a close knowledge of many of the refugee organisations. It argues passionately that Britain shall not throw away, through ignorance and misunderstanding, a reputation for providing a place of safety for the persecuted, and the chance of welcoming people who have much to contribute to national life and culture.

Pirouet, a Briton who has taught at universities in Uganda and Kenya, surveys UK immigration policy between 1987 and 1999 and finds that xenophobia frequently has won out, in spite of political rhetoric in praise of giving shelter to those fleeing persecution. "The legislation passed in the last decade has made it progressively more difficult for anyone seeking asylum in the UK and life progressively more uncertain and uncomfortable for those who, against all odds, manage to reach this country," she writes. "A mixed message is coming from government....Britain is now irreversibly a multicultural nation, and the only healthy kind of self-definition must take that into account." c. Book News Inc.

Demonstrating that the state of civil liberties and human rights in the United Kingdom are quite perilous, this case study looks at the role of rights vis-à-vis social change and culture. Empirically examining the Human Rights Act (HRA), with asylum serving as the main case study, the book focuses on law in action, based on extensive fieldwork and framed against current events. It also discusses the role of Section 55—a law enacted at the same time as the HRA that was an antithesis of what the HRA promised and which forced thousands of asylum-seekers into destitution. Though Section 55 was eventually defeated, asylum-seekers in the UK are still powerless and marginalized. The book argues that the HRA has proven to be ineffective against illiberal policies and that the development of a culture of rights, as far as asylum is concerned, has stalled. This thoughtful analysis of the use of rights laws to advance social causes presents both potential and pitfalls, making it useful for sociologists, activists, and nongovernmental organizations.

FIRST PRIZE WINNER OF THE SLS BIRKS PRIZE FOR OUTSTANDING LEGAL SCHOLARSHIP 2011 How are we to assess and evaluate the quality of the tribunal systems that do the day-to-day work of adjudicating upon the disputes individuals have with government? This book examines how the idea of adjudicative quality works in practice by presenting a detailed case-study of the tribunal system responsible for determining appeals lodged by foreign nationals who claim that they will be at risk of persecution or ill-treatment on return to their country of origin. Over recent years, the asylum appeal process has become a major area of judicial decision-making and the most frequently restructured tribunal system. Asylum adjudication is also one of the most difficult areas of decision-making in the modern legal system. Integrating empirical research with legal analysis, this book provides an in-depth study of the development and operation of this tribunal system and of asylum decision-making. The book examines how this particular appeal process seeks to mediate the tension between the competing values under which it operates. There are chapters examining the organisation of the tribunal system, its procedures, the nature of fact-finding in asylum cases and the operation of onward rights of challenge. An examination as to how the tensions inherent in the idea of administrative justice are manifested in the context of a tribunal system responsible for making potentially life or death decisions, this book fills a gap in the literature and will be of value to those interested in administrative law and asylum adjudication.

The practice of sanctuary�giving refuge to the threatened, vulnerable stranger�may be universal among humans. From primate populations to ancient religious traditions to the modern legal institution of asylum, anthropologist Linda Rabben explores the long history of sanctuary and analyzes modern asylum policies in North America, Europe, and elsewhere, contrasting them with the role that courageous individuals and organizations have played in offering refuge to survivors of torture, persecution, and discrimination. Rabben gives close attention to the mid-2010s refugee crisis in Europe and to Central Americans seeking asylum in the United States. This wide-ranging, timely, and carefully documented account draws on Rabben�s experiences as a human rights advocate as well as her training as an anthropologist. Sanctuary and Asylum will help citizens, professionals, and policy makers take informed and compassionate action.

Awarded 2nd Prize, Best Book award, the Society for Education Studies, 2011 Refugees are physically and symbolically 'out of place' - their presence forces governments to address issues of rights and moral obligations. This book contrasts the hostility of immigration policy to 'non-citizen'' children with teachers' exceptional compassion and 'citizen students' ambivalence in defining who can belong.

The concept of ‘mobility’ has sparked lively academic debate in recent years. Drawing on research from the fields of anthropology, geography, sociology and tourism studies, this volume examines the intersection between mobility and hospitality, highlighting the issues that emerge as we encounter strangers in a mobile world. Through a series of diverse empirical accounts, it focuses on the transnational movement of people in the contexts of migration and tourism and examines how hospitality serves as a way of promoting and policing encounters, questioning how these relations are marked by exclusion as well as inclusion, and by violence as well as by kindness. In addition to exploring the power relations between mobile populations (hosts and guests) and attitudes (hospitality and hostility), the book also examines spaces of hospitality and mobility, such as cities, hotels, clubs, cafes, spas, asylums, restaurants, homes and homepages. In doing so, it makes a significant contribution to the political and ethical dimensions of mobile social relations.

This critique of the securitization and criminalization of asylum seeking challenges the claim that asylum seekers 'threaten' receiving states. It analyzes recent policy developments in relation to their wider historical, political and European contexts and argues that the UK response effectively renders asylum seekers as scapegoats.