Recent Deportations, Windrush and EU Citizens after Brexit – the racially disparate impact of immigration law and policy

CARJ has produced a briefing on the recent Windrush deportations and the EU citizens status concerns after Brexit.

Very recently, the news highlighted a deportation flight which carried 29 foreign nationals from London to Jamaica.  They were said to be ‘serious offenders’ and had been held in detention centres awaiting deportation.  It is reported that some 50 deportees were due to be on the flight, but some had their removals cancelled at the last moment.

There has been animated discussion of this incident in the media, against the background of problems faced by the Windrush generation and concern for the plight of EU citizens after Brexit.

It may be helpful to see these recent events in the context of the earlier visit of the UN Special Rapporteur on Racism.  In May 2018, at the end of her eleven day mission to the UK,  Prof Tendayi Achiume  released an End of Mission Statement containing  her ‘preliminary observations’ regarding racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance in the UK.

Particularly relevant are Prof Achiume’s comments on the Race Disparity Audit (RDA).  She praises the RDA as a ‘remarkable step’ and says that it is ‘worthy of emulation by governments all over the world.’(para 12).  However, she is equally clear about its failure to address immigration law and policy:

Please see the rest of the briefing here RecentDeporations.CARJBrfFeb2019 (1)