Campaigning

The political landscape around the right to claim asylum and achieve refugee status is constantly shifting but firmly built on a bedrock of racist and anti-migrant sentiment. These foundations, established by the hostile environment of the former Conservative Government over its 14 years in office, remain largely unchallenged by the current Labour administration and there is much campaigning needed.

The main focus of our campaign work is the following four critical issues:

• Safe and Legal Routes

People, including children, continue to die trying to cross the Channel to find safety in the UK. The only nationalities who can legally and safely get to Britain are people from Ukraine, some from Hong Kong and certain categories from Afghanistan. 

The new Labour policy of ‘one-in-one out’ may allow a few people to arrive in the UK safely, but this is at the expense of someone else who has been detained and deported. We support the demands of Safe Passage to introduce a refugee visa and to work more closely with Europe to remove the need for dangerous channel crossings at the mercy of people smugglers and unsafe vessels.

• End Indefinite Detention

The UK is only country in Europe that has a policy of indefinite immigration detention. Unlike a criminal prison sentence, people detained for the purposes of immigration scrutiny, can be detained indefinitely, with very poor access to legal representation, healthcare and emotional support.

Alongside Detention Action, we have long called for a time limit of 28 days in detention and a fair and just immigration system.

• The Right to Work

People seeking asylum may wait for long periods of time – often years – for their claims to be processed, during which time they cannot legally work and need to subsist on £49 a week to cover clothes, phones, transport, toiletries, food etc.

Refugee Action argue that allowing people to work and share their skills, not only is the most dignified route to becoming independent but also could boost the UK economy by £280 million a year. We have joined the coalition of over 300 organisations who have called for #LiftTheBan on the right to work.

We were therefore greatly heartened that this brutal policy was immediately repealed when the current Labour government took office. However, the current government’s Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill of January 2025 and subsequent policies give us much to campaign against.

• Family Reunion

At the beginning of September 2025, the Government suddenly announced that no further applications for family reunion would be accepted. Family reunion has long been a vital lifeline for refugees, allowing them to reunite with children, partners, and loved ones after being granted protection in the UK. With the suspension now in place until new rules are introduced in Spring 2026, families are left facing separation, fear, and deep uncertainty.

Right to Remain have stated that family reunion is a right and not a privilege, and along with other campaign groups, we will continue to argue and campaign for the reinstatement of this right.