BritCits

Today's links

Robert Thomas/UK Constitutional Law Blog - 'The new immigration rules and the right to family life' : http://ukconstitutionallaw.org/2012/10/04/robert-thomas-the-new-immigration-rules-and-the-right-to-family-life/

'The scene is, then, set for a showdown – sometime in 2013-14 I would guess. It is almost as if the Government has drawn a line in the sand and has now dared the courts to cross it. Picking an argument with the courts has, of course, long been the stock-in-trade of Home Secretaries when the normally hard-grind of government gets even tougher; former Home Secretaries such as Michael Howard and David Blunkett both had their run-ins with the courts. A cynical observer might suggest that lying beneath all the formal surface issues of the rules, Parliamentary procedure, case-law, and so on, the Government has been in search of a future blame-avoidance strategy...'



Robert Thomas is Professor of Public Law at the School of Law, University of Manchester.

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George Galloway has tabled an Early Day Motion condemning the 9th July immigration rules : http://www.parliament.uk/edm/2012-13/914

George Galloway - 'Oppose the new family immigration rules' : http://www.votegeorgegalloway.com/2013/01/oppose-new-family-immigration-rules.html?m=1

It's worth noting that two EDMs were tabled last year on the same issue :
http://www.parliament.uk/edm/2012-13/297
http://www.parliament.uk/edm/2012-13/335

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Thanks to Nando Sigona for the tweet : https://twitter.com/nandosigona

Nando is a great tweeter on migration issues, we recommend following him.

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Thanks also for the RTs : https://twitter.com/georgegalloway , https://twitter.com/mshafiquk , https://twitter.com/Women_United1 , https://twitter.com/MoAnsar , https://twitter.com/KhalidBinWalid2 , https://twitter.com/AR04OOF ,  https://twitter.com/nanayasleeps , https://twitter.com/bmagnanti , https://twitter.com/olegumn , https://twitter.com/NICEMNI , https://twitter.com/delamuka , https://twitter.com/migrants_rights , https://twitter.com/RAMFELCharity , https://twitter.com/bristolnoborder , https://twitter.com/MigrantVoiceUK , https://twitter.com/niccig

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Brooke Magnanti has written on this issue.

'Theresa May's immigration plan is a one-size-fits-none fix' : http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/mar/26/theresa-may-migrants-immigration

'Britain's migration rules are tearing families apart' : http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/mother-tongue/9688898/Britains-migration-rules-are-tearing-families-apart.html

Worth reading, and re-reading.

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A pertinent post on Facebook's Transpondia group ( https://www.facebook.com/Transpondia?ref=stream ) :

'It struck me that the Home Secretary has today agreed that in future, a police starting salary will drop to £19,000. This barely meets the minimum threshold to sponsor a spouse to enter the UK, and is not enough if they have a child. What does that say about the threshold, if someone doing such a vital role in our country cannot meet it?'

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Asylum, extradition and immigration case law and court cases : http://www.casecheck.co.uk/CaseLaw.aspx?BlogID=632

Looks like a useful resource. I love http://www.freemovement.org.uk/ and http://ukhumanrightsblog.com/ for helping to interpret these cases in a lively and informative way.

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