We want the immigration system to shift its focus away from the hostile environment, to supporting people’s settlement.
The problem we're trying to solve
The complex and punitive nature of the immigration system forces people into poverty or destitution.
The costs of engaging with the system (both direct costs such as visa fees, or indirect costs, such as legal fees) can lead to high levels of debt.
It's no wonder that London’s migrant communities are more likely to experience persistent poverty and destitution when faced with:
- exclusion from public benefits
- restrictions that prevent people from taking on work
- prolonged uncertainty and delays in decision making which arise during lengthy routes to settlement
And data suggests this disproportionately affects Black and other racially minoritised women and Disabled people.
How change will happen
Migration is often politicised which can make change harder to achieve. A shift in our immigration system to one that that focuses on settlement and citizenship will rely on effective campaigning by broad coalitions working towards a common goal. It will require a connected and sustainable migration sector that is effective and influential in bringing about change, and people with lived experience will need to be at the forefront. It will require shifts in public attitudes towards migration, as well as political courage.
Change will require work at both the national and local level. This means that the voice and experience of Londoners will need to contribute towards research and campaigns focused on London, as well as the wider UK.
What we’ll fund
We want to fund campaigns, research and policy work focused on bringing about a new immigration system that champions settlement and citizenship.
Examples could include:
- Funding to increase influencing capacity and effectiveness. This might include funding for research and policy analysis (e.g. that highlights the disproportionate impact of immigration policy on particular groups, or cost-benefit analysis of removing some social security benefits from the scope of NRPF), funding for shared policy capacity across advice organisations, continued funding to support strategic litigation (through funding for pre-litigation research, expert opinions and third party interventions), strategic communications, lived experience led influencing and organising work, and support for public affairs work.
- Funding to support collaborative ways of working within London’s migration sector. This would include early-stage funding to support the development of collaborations, funding for established and effective collaborations between organisations using different approaches and funding that invests in organisations’ core capacity and infrastructure to increase their effectiveness.