Legal aid access and no family separations: an immigration detention wishlist (Guardian) (11 October 2018)

The Guardian have collected data from a select group of organisations and legal practices, including Duncan Lewis Solicitors, in order to get a grasp on the real issues with the UK’s immigration removal practices today. They used this to put together what they are calling a ‘wish list’ of changes that these NGOs and law firms believe should be made in order to make the situation better for thousands of immigrants who are caught up in these practices. Toufique Hossain, a Director of public law and immigration at our Harrow office, has spoken out about the injustices that are being allowed whilst current immigration policies are still in place: “There is meant to be a presumption to liberty; it is at the cornerstone of our society. It has been left to brave detainees, facing overwhelming tides of legal aid cuts, to challenge the arbitrary and indefinite detention in disgraceful conditions…Time and again they are vindicated by the courts. None of this has troubled successive home secretaries. That is because racist detention policies have been cynically deployed to ensure administrative convenience on the way to expedient political success.”