The passage of the Nationality and Borders Bill into law on 26th April 2022 was a major blow for all those who had been fighting so hard for more than 9 months to block it, including campaigners, charities, faith groups, local authorities and many law makers. After so much hard work, it is easy to feel discouraged. That’s why, on 18th May 2022, Praxis convened a panel discussion at our Annual General Meeting to talk about avenues for resistance, now that the Bill is law.

The panel was moderated by Praxis’ new chair, Dr Debbie Weekes-Bernard, and featured contributions from:

Olivia, a Service User representative on Praxis’ board of Trustees and a member of the NRPF Action Group, which is campaigning to end the NRPF policy for good;
Sophie Lucas, a solicitor in the public law team at Duncan Lewis Solicitors, who has worked on a number of challenges to unlawful Home Office policies and decisions; and
Zrinka Bralo, CEO of Migrants Organise, an award-winning grassroots platform where migrants and refugees organise together for dignity and justice.

Following an introduction from Debbie, highlighting the many ways in which the Nationality and Borders Act will inflict harm on people seeking safety in the UK, amongst others, each panelist shared their views on the key avenues for resistance to the Government’s cruel and punitive approach. Read a recap of the discussion below or watch it in full.

Resistance through creativity and common ground

First up, Olivia shared her reflections on the Bill’s passage into law, as someone who has been through the asylum system. When people put their lives at risk to cross a border, or travel huge distances in search of safety, it’s important to remember that they wouldn’t do it if their lives were not already at risk.

Refugees have often experienced trauma whilst fleeing for their lives. If they are to recover and heal, they need to feel safe. This Act will take away everything that might make a refugee feel safe, including access to the welfare safety net and a sense of safety and security in their status.

In terms of avenues for resistance to the Act, Olivia emphasized the importance of seeking new strategies and tactics, and identifying new targets, to keep up the momentum. Creative approaches to organizing that build on the common ground amongst us is critical to resistance. Olivia particularly underlined the importance of engaging children in discussions about what a better system would look like, because the children of today will be tomorrow’s politicians.

She concluded by noting that, although the passage of the Act has been a big blow to everyone who has been fighting for migrant justice over the last year, by focusing on and pursuing our shared humanity and dignity, we can continue to make progress towards a fairer, more compassionate asylum system.

“One person confronting a lion will be eaten, but, if we are many, we can chase the lion away.”

Resistance through legal action

Next, we heard from Duncan Lewis solicitor Sophie Lucas, who worked on a successful legal challenge to the Government’s plans to push back small boats in the English channel, and is currently preparing a challenge to the plan to transport refugees to Rwanda.

Sophie began by reminding us that the Nationality and Borders Act is a direct attack on the 1951 Refugee Convention. Before the convention came into being, people fleeing conflict or persecution needed to have prior permission if they wanted to seek safety in another country. One of the most important things that the Refugee Convention did was to move away from this to a more needs-based system. The Act, therefore, is a full-frontal attack on the very premise of the Convention.

In terms of legal challenges, the challenge to the Government’s Channel pushbacks plan involved a diverse group of clients, including the Public and Commercial Services Union, which represents 80% of Border Force officials, Freedom from Torture and others. Although the Government ultimately withdrew the plan in the face of this challenge, the Act expands the Government’s powers that make it possible for such a plan to be reintroduced later on. Sophie is also currently working on a legal challenge to the Government’s plan to send people seeking asylum to Rwanda, not just to have their claims processed but to be resettled there long term.

Sophie highlighted other areas in which the Act could be challenged, based on how its provisions contravene the UK’s international legal obligations, including:

The inadmissibility regime, which provides for asylum seekers who arrive in the UK to have their claims deemed inadmissible if they have travelled through safe third country;
The criminalisation of people for arriving irregularly;
The introduction of a two-tier system that discriminates against some refugees based on their mode of arrival.

While cautioning that legal challenges are going to be difficult because this is now primary legislation, and the courts have shown themselves to be reluctant to find against legislation which is seen to have a democratic mandate, Sophie emphasised that there are reasons to be hopeful. A wide range of actors have shown themselves ready to challenge these policies and practices as they come into force and are actively engaged in identifying ways to do this. In her view, continuing to expand the coalition against these provisions will be key.

Resistance through collective action

Finally, Zrinka Bralo, CEO of Migrants Organise and herself a refugee from Bosnia, reminded us that the very act of being together and talking is a form of resistance. She noted that our resilience is our resistance and supporting each other to build our resilience is how the battle will be won. She called on us to find new ways of coming together, supporting each other and platforming each other, because power in organising is the ability to act. As Nelson Mandela said, “it always seems impossible until it is done”. Zrinka noted that it can seem very overwhelming when the Government is passing multiple pieces of regressive and repressive legislation. However, she prefers to see this as a reflection of the fact that the Government is afraid of those who are challenging it.

In terms of building resistance, all spheres of public life must be mobilised to protect our communities, and those who want to bring about a better system need to enter all spheres of public life. She highlighted a recent action organised via social media to stop police who were carrying out security checks on e-scooters in Dalston from trying to deport Deliveroo drivers, as an example of how this can be done. There are going to be more of these types of actions, where activists are going to have to step in to make sure that people can enjoy their freedoms and sustain their lives. Zrinka emphasised that just because the Government has made something the law, it doesn’t mean it is legitimate. We need to keep reminding people what justice and dignity look like.

A key tactic will be building a positive counter narrative to the story that the Government, with the support of the right-wing press, would like to tell. This is why it’s important that we think about how we platform each other, so that all the good people who are doing good things quietly are collectively creating a positive narrative that is greater than the sum of its parts. Zrinka pointed to the Week of Action that is being organised by the Solidarity Knows No Borders Network in June as an example of how we can platform and profile all of the amazing and inspiring work that’s happen to resist the Government’s cruel policies, and called on everyone present to participate.

Thank you to all of our panel participants for this exciting and inspiring discussion!

Join the Week of Action now

From 13th – 19th June, the Solidarity Knows No Borders Network is organising a week of action against the hostile environment, with organisations, coalitions and communities across the country taking part. Find a local event or action near you to get involved and stand together with everyone!

Find your local action

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We will resist: how we can challenge the Nationality and Borders Act