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Aston University celebrates becoming a University of Sanctuary with official event
Aston University officially celebrated becoming a University of Sanctuary with an event held on 16 May for all those who contributed to achieving this status. The University was awarded University of Sanctuary status in December 2022, joining a network of higher education institutions across the UK working to develop support for those displaced by humanitarian crises. The celebration was hosted by Aston University Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive, Professor Aleks Subic. Guests included Councillor John Cotton, Birmingham City Council Cabinet member for Social Justice, Community Safety and Equalities, who made a special award presentation. The event programme also included a performance by poet Loraine Masiya Mponela, who herself was an asylum seeker and conversations with recipients of Ernest Edward Scholarships, a sanctuary scholarship scheme for students who have sought refuge in the UK. The scheme was set up by Aston University in 2022 due to a generous donation by prominent businessperson Matthew Crummack. Universities of Sanctuary is an initiative to recognise and celebrate the good practice of institutions welcoming people seeking sanctuary through facilitated access to higher education, supporting local refugee communities and taking an active role in learning about the issues and obstacles faced by this group in pursuing university-level education. Professor Aleks Subic, Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of Aston University, said: “I am delighted to have had this opportunity to host a celebration event to thank everyone who has helped us achieve the University of Sanctuary status. “Aston University is committed to supporting people seeking sanctuary through its efforts to deepen our understanding of the issues surrounding asylum seekers and refugees, providing a welcoming environment for sanctuary students, and working with individuals and communities beyond the campus to promote the values and principles of sanctuary. “Being a University of Sanctuary is key to our Civic Agreement: our commitment to make Birmingham a better place for everyone who lives, works, and studies here. Birmingham." Councillor John Cotton, Birmingham City Council Cabinet member for Social Justice, Community Safety and Equalities, said: “Birmingham is proud to be a City of Sanctuary, with its long history of offering refuge to those fleeing war, persecution and tyranny around the globe. In these troubled times, standing up for the principles of sanctuary and refuge is more important than ever. “I’m delighted that Aston University has joined the family of Universities of Sanctuary and is one of the many important institutions in our city that actively extends the hand of friendship to those seeking refuge and the chance to rebuild their lives here in Birmingham.”
Aston University signs City of Sanctuary pledge
City of Sanctuary supports groups and organisations to build a culture of welcome and hospitality Aston University has become a supporting organisation of City of Sanctuary It is committed to achieving University of Sanctuary status. Aston University has become a supporting organisation of City of Sanctuary UK to demonstrate its commitment to helping people fleeing violence and persecution. City of Sanctuary is a charity supporting a network of groups across the UK and Ireland working to build a culture of welcome and hospitality within their communities. Earlier this year, the University opened a new Centre for Migration and Forced Displacement. The centre officially launched with an event bringing together designers, artists and academics to discuss how to investigate and publicise violence against migrants. Other initiatives set up by Aston University to support refugees and asylum seekers include: a new sanctuary scholarship scheme for students who have sought refuge in the UK the student-led Enactus Society Chance for Change project, facilitating integration and employment for refugees supporting the Kozminski Foundation run by Kozminski University in Poland, which provides support for victims of the war in Ukraine students in the University’s Centre for Research in Ethnic Minority Entrepreneurship undertaking PhD research into refugee entrepreneurship funding for an emergency training package for Ukrainian interpreters, supporting local organisations in contact with Ukrainian refugees. Dr Angela Jeffery, director of regional strategy at Aston University, said: “Aston University recently launched its Civic University Agreement, outlining our commitment as an anchor institution to improving the economic, social, environmental and cultural life of our local communities. “Becoming a supporting organisation of the City of Sanctuary is one of many steps the University is taking to support our region and society. We endorse the City of Sanctuary Charter and agree to act in accordance with its values. We are committed to achieving University of Sanctuary status by welcoming asylum seekers and refugees into the university community and fostering a culture of welcome and inclusion for all.” City of Sanctuary chair, David Brown, said: “As a diverse and vibrant university in a diverse and vibrant city, Aston University is in a really strong position to welcome and support asylum seekers, refugees and other migrants as they seek to build new lives in the UK, and to contribute their skills and energy to the University community, to Birmingham and to the Midlands. “With colleagues in the City of Sanctuary movement, I warmly welcome Aston University’s commitment to become a University of Sanctuary.”
Up to four scholarships are being offered to students who have sought refuge in the UK The donor, Matthew Crummack, is CEO of Domestic & General, former CEO of GoCompare and lastminute.com and an alumnus of Aston University The Scholarships are named after the donor’s grandfather, Ernest Edward, who left school at 12 to work in a coal mine. Aston University is launching a new sanctuary scholarship scheme for students who have sought refuge in the UK. Up to four sanctuary scholarships are on offer, due to a generous donation by prominent businessperson Matthew Crummack, currently chief executive of Domestic & General. They will be known as The Ernest Edward Scholarships in memory of the donor’s grandfather, Ernest Edward Crummack, who left school aged 12 to work in a coal mine. Matthew graduated with a BSc in International Business and French at Aston University in 1993. His career to date has taken him into well-known companies such as GoCompare, lastminute.com, Expedia, Nestlé and Procter & Gamble. He was awarded an honorary doctorate by Aston University in 2016, in recognition of his professional achievements and service to the University. Ernest Edward Scholars will receive a full tuition fee waiver and up to £25,000 throughout their course to help with living costs. Language assistance will also be offered if required, as well as support from Aston University Students’ Union and professional mentoring support. To be eligible for an Ernest Edward Scholarship, applicants must be an asylum seeker, the partner or dependant of an asylum seeker or an asylum seeker/refugee/partner/dependant who has been granted Discretionary Leave to Remain (DLR) or some other form of temporary status. Applicants need to apply for an eligible Aston University course - any three-year undergraduate or one-year postgraduate programme - before applying for a scholarship. Applications will close on 12 June for the 2022 round. Speaking about his motivation for funding the scholarships, Matthew said: “My grandfather, whom I sadly never met, had little choice but to leave school at 12 to work in a coal mine. “100 years on, so many young people and especially young refugees, still find themselves challenged to grow and fulfil their potential. I hope that these scholarships will create that opportunity and pave the way for some of tomorrow’s leaders. “I strongly value my Aston University education and believe that business and individuals can take a leadership role in giving back to those facing challenge.” Saskia Loer Hansen, Interim Vice-Chancellor of Aston University, said: “Young people seeking asylum in the UK are likely to have experienced trauma and will have lost much which cannot be replaced. The Ernest Edward Scholarship can contribute to a brighter future, made possible by education. It offers hope and an opportunity for respite. “On behalf of Aston University, I would like to express my deep gratitude to Matthew for his generous and compassionate support in helping to make Aston University a safe haven. It is an act of kindness which will have a profound effect on those young lives.” More information about The Ernest Edward Scholarships is available here.
Operation Allies Welcome -- the official name for the American government's ongoing effort to assist vulnerable Afghans following the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan -- is the most significant U.S. resettlement effort since 1975. As of February 2022, some 65,000 Afghans have evacuated and settled in American communities. UConn School of Social work professors Kathryn Libal and Scott Harding have extensively studied the refugee resettlement process in America. In a recent essay for The Conversation, they detailed the resettlement process that refugees face -- and the challenges that individuals, families, agencies, and volunteers are enduring as the effort strains an already overburdened system. U.S. agencies brought in Afghans under humanitarian parole, rather than standard refugee procedures, because of the urgency of the evacuation. But the consequences may be profound. Some parolees had to wait weeks or months for the government or social service organizations to file paperwork granting them the right to work. Another challenge for parolees is securing family members’ admission to the U.S., which requires a high level of proof of threat to that particular individual. Many Afghan parolees should eventually qualify for asylum, but applying is a lengthy and complex process that generally requires significant legal assistance. More than 400,000 asylum cases are pending in the U.S. asylum system. Refugee resettlement organizations and voluntary groups that could normally help with filing asylum claims are already stretched thin. Evacuees’ advocates have called for approval of the Afghan Adjustment Act, which would allow Afghans to apply for lawful permanent resident status without waiting for the asylum system to rule on their cases or processing of special immigrant visa applications. Governors, businesses, celebrities, universities, military members, veterans and individuals across the U.S. have stepped in to support recent Afghan evacuees – many in locales with no history of resettling refugees. The responsibilities of resettlement, however, extend beyond helping evacuees in their first few weeks, to helping them secure a stable future. -- The Conversation, February 18, 2022 An associate professor of social work and human rights, Kathryn Libal is the director of UConn's Human Rights Institute and is an expert on human rights, refugee resettlement, and social welfare. She is available to speak with media – click on her icon now to arrange an interview.
Will Biden’s Plan to Resettle Afghans Transform the U.S. Refugee Program?
Among the high-profile anti-immigration policies that characterized the four years of Donald Trump’s presidency was a dramatic contraction in refugee resettlement in the United States. President Biden has expressed support for restoring U.S. leadership, and increased commitment is needed to help support the more than 80 million people worldwide displaced by political violence, persecution, and climate change, says UConn expert Kathryn Libal. As Libal writes, with co-author and fellow UConn professor Scott Harding, in a recent article for the Georgetown Journal of International Affairs, the rapid evacuation of more than 60,000 Afghans pushed the Biden administration to innovate by expanding community-based refugee resettlement and creating a private sponsorship program. But more resources are needed to support programs that were severely undermined in previous years and to support community-based programs that help refugees through the resettlement process: Community sponsorship also encourages local residents to “invest” in welcoming refugees. Under existing community sponsorship efforts, volunteers often have deep ties to their local communities—critical for helping refugees secure housing, and gain access to employment, education, and health care. As these programs expand, efforts to connect refugees to community institutions and stakeholders, which are crucial to help facilitate their social integration, may be enhanced. As Chris George, Executive Director of Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services in New Haven, Connecticut, has observed, “It’s better for the refugee family to have a community group working with them that knows the schools and knows where to shop and knows where the jobs are.” As more local communities take responsibility for sponsoring refugee families, the potential for a more durable resettlement program may be enhanced. In the face of heightened polarization of refugee and immigration policies, community sponsorship programs can also foster broad-based involvement in refugee resettlement. In turn, greater levels of community engagement can help challenge opposition toward and misinformation about refugees and create greater public support for the idea of refugee resettlement. Yet these efforts are also fraught with significant challenges. Sponsor circle members may have limited capacity or skills to navigate the social welfare system, access health care services, or secure affordable housing for refugees. If group members lack familiarity with the intricacies of US immigration law, helping Afghans designated as “humanitarian parolees” attain asylum status may prove daunting. Without adequate training and ongoing support from resettlement agencies and caseworkers, community volunteers may experience “burn out” from these various responsibilities. Finally, “successful” private and community sponsorship efforts risk providing justification to the arguments of those in support of the privatization of the USRAP and who claim that the government’s role in resettlement should be limited. Opponents of refugee resettlement could argue that community groups are more effective than the existing public–private resettlement model and seek to cut federal funding and involvement in resettlement. Such action could ultimately limit the overall number of refugees the United States admits in the future. December 11 - Georgetown Journal of International Affairs. If you are a journalist looking to know more about this topic – then let us help with your coverage and questions. An associate professor of social work and human rights, Kathryn Libal is the director of UConn's Human Rights Institute and is an expert on human rights, refugee resettlement, and social welfare. She is available to speak with media – click on her icon now to arrange an interview.
What does the latest federal ruling mean for DACA? A UConn expert weighs in.
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, more commonly known as DACA, was introduced in 2012, and ithas enabled roughly 828,000 eligible young adults to work, attend school, and live out their lives in the United States, the only country they know as their home, according to the American Immigration Council. DACA is back in news, though, after a federal judge in Texas ruled that the program was unconstitutional, a decision that attorney, scholar, and expert Jon Bauer from the UConn School of Law says is shaky: The decision in federal court wasn’t a surprise to Jon Bauer, who directs the University of Connecticut Law School’s Asylum and Human Rights Clinic. Because Hanen is known for his conservative judicial philosophy, according to Bauer, the ruling was expected to interfere with DACA in some capacity. But Bauer said the ruling could be overturned. “The reasoning of the decision is very weak, in my opinion. The judge, I think, misconstrued the scope of the Department of Homeland Security's authority to engage in what's called deferred action, which is what the DACA program is,” Bauer said. Connecticut has 3,560 residents who have DACA, as of March 2020, according to the Department of Homeland Security which administers the policy. Current recipients aren’t in immediate danger of losing their status, since the ruling as of now only prevents first time applicants from getting DACA. Bauer said that non-citizens have long been allowed to work with deferred action. While the federal government can conceivably attempt a legislative path to citizenship for DACA recipients, the road ahead to any permanent solution is uncertain due to the divisive nature of the current Congress. July 31, 2021 – Hearst Connecticut Media The fate of DACA is important not just to the individual recipients, but to the immigration system and economy of the United States more broadly. If you are a journalist looking to know more, then let us help. Jon Bauer is a clinical professor of law and is the director of the UConn School of Law’s Asylum and Human Rights Clinic. He is a go-to expert in the areas of asylum and refugee law, immigration law, employment and housing discrimination, and legal ethics. Professor Bauer is available to speak with media regarding this most recent DACA ruling – simply click on his icon now to arrange an interview today.
Migrants "forced onto even riskier paths" by UK/France deal to patrol Channel: Dr Maurice Stierl
The UK and French governments have agreed a deal to tackle the rise in people trying to cross the Channel. Read full story on BBC News here. Dr Maurice Stierl, an expert on migrants' and refugees' rights at borders from the University of Warwick (UK), offers his expert comment: "The suggested deal between the UK and France to increase police presence along the northern coasts of France may decrease Channel crossings, though merely temporarily and in no way sustainably. The history of sea migration, both in the Channel and the Mediterranean, shows that increased policing does not end crossings but merely produces lengthier, costlier, and more dangerous migration routes. "Migrants will seek to evade the police presence and be forced onto even riskier paths. In overall figures, and despite being portrayed by the government as an “invasion”, Channel migration is not a significant phenomenon, and the UK is well-equipped to adequately deal with maritime migration, care for those in need, and provide routes to asylum. "Unfortunately, the UK government has only one recipe when dealing with migration, which is to criminalise migration, reinforce border controls, and undermine the right to seek asylum. In this way, already-vulnerable people are not only placed into ever-more precarious situations but are also scapegoated for a range of social ills and policy failures that the government wants to distract the public from." For further information, contact: Luke Walton, International Press Manager, University of Warwick L.Walton.1@warwick.ac.uk +44 (0) 7823 362 150
Legal and illegal immigrants who are facing possible deportation may be held indefinitely without bail, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Tuesday. The court overruled a decision by the 9th Circuit Appeals Court that gave detained immigrants the right to a bond hearing every six months. The 5-3 decision affects all immigrants, including asylum seekers and green card holders. This ruling raises a lot of questions, and our experts can help. Dr. Martha Ginn, assistant dean of Pamplin College and associate professor of political science, is an expert in Supreme Court decision-making. Her research focuses on how Supreme Court justices make decisions, how information they receive from amicus curiae influences court rulings, and how controversial decisions can affect the court's legitimacy. Ginn is available to discuss: -What factors influence the justice's decision-making process in controversial rulings. -How public opinion on controversial topics affects the Supreme Court's legitimacy. -How the definition of "immigrant" in this case may impact Trump's immigration policy. Source:
