IRR News Comment
Recent articles
Poland: Anti-Roma mob attack legitimised
By Joanna Tegnerowicz
In July 2010, an angry crowd launched a terrifying attack on a Roma family in Limanowa, southern Poland. But why were no arrests made? And how come no one has condemned the violence?
2 September 2010 (2571 words)
Who defends whom?
By Jehanzeb Khan
An anti-racist student organiser discusses, in the light of the upcoming English Defence League (EDL) event in Bradford, what anti-fascists can learn about recent state interventions and particularly the policing of anti-fascist demonstrations.
27 August 2010 (1211 words)
Asylum battles: two victories and one setback
By Frances Webber
The rights of asylum seekers were upheld in two recent court judgments - but those facing deportation on national security grounds were denied justice in a third.
12 August 2010 (1548 words)
Nottingham asylum seeker jumps to his death
By Harmit Athwal
Campaigners are desperately trying to raise the necessary funds to send the body of 27-year-old Osman Rasul Mohammed, an Iraqi Kurdish asylum seeker who jumped from the seventh floor of a Nottingham tower block, back home.
5 August 2010 (510 words)
Duplicity behind immigration cap
By Frances Webber
Electoral politics, rather than economic necessity, are behind the cap on non-EU economic immigration.
8 July 2010 (1679 words)
Child detention review: the challenge for NGOs
By Frances Webber
How should the voluntary sector respond to the government's review of children's detention?
24 June 2010 (1211 words)
Freedom - but not for all
By Frances Webber
The government's much vaunted freedom agenda entrenches a two-tier system of rights, with migrants and other unpopular minorities largely excluded.
17 June 2010 (637 words)
Darfuri asylum seeker failed by the system
By Kirsten Heaven
Kirsten Heaven, barrister at Garden Court Chambers, writes about the deaths of foreign nationals in custody and the critical verdict in the recent inquest into the self-inflicted death of a young Darfuri in HMP Chelmsford.
10 June 2010 (1360 words)
New government seeks to bully judges
By Frances Webber
Those expecting a new spirit of fairness and social liberalism to engulf the UK Border Agency (UKBA) following the insertion of the LibDems into government are perhaps beginning to realise the folly of their hopes in the light of recent news.
10 June 2010 (1790 words)
Deportation targets trump children's rights
By Liz Fekete
When the newly-elected government announced it would end the detention of children, IRR News cautioned against early optimism. This week's developments explain why.
9 June 2010 (759 words)
Playing the Gypsy 'race card'
By John Grayson
The Con-Dem coalition has started an offensive against the most marginal and disadvantaged of all Britain's minorities, Gypsies and Travellers.
4 June 2010 (2957 words)
Poland: Reflections on the death of a street vendor
By Joanna Tegnerowicz
A Nigerian street vendor was shot dead following a police identity check in an open-air market in Warsaw. But is anyone asking the right questions?
3 June 2010 (2691 words)
Threatened closure spells disaster for refugees
By Frances Webber
Refugee and Migrant Justice (RMJ), the largest UK legal charity offering free advice and representation to asylum seekers and other vulnerable migrants, is facing the real possibility of closure because of huge delays in payments for the work its lawyers do.
3 June 2010 (1012 words)
From Barking to Aberdeenshire
By Chris Searle
A renowned educationalist critiques recent Citizenship Foundation guidance for teachers on dealing with the BNP and other radical groups in schools.
27 May 2010 (961 words)
The moving right show ... again
By John Grayson
A member of the South Yorkshire Migration and Action Group analyses how racist assumptions have been embedded by Labour politicians.
27 May 2010 (1981 words)
How good is the good news on child detention?
By Frances Webber
The heralded end to the detention of children in centres like Yarl's Wood has to be treated with caution.
20 May 2010 (938 words)
Reflections on the media, immigration and the election
By John Grayson
A member of South Yorkshire Migration and Asylum Action Group discusses the way that politicians and sections of the media have distorted issues around asylum and immigration.
13 May 2010 (2521 words)
Home Office rides roughshod over international students
By Frances Webber
New rules seriously affecting international students and language colleges have been pushed through parliament in defiance of proper procedures.
6 May 2010 (964 words)
Only an inquiry will bring trust in Prevent
By Arun Kundnani
The government must now launch an independent inquiry into the human rights issues which the Preventing Violent Extremism policy raises.
30 March 2010 (796 words)
Open season on Palestine protesters
By Harmit Athwal
Open season seems to have been declared on people protesting about Palestine and Israeli action in Gaza.
18 March 2010 (689 words)