On 17 March 2020, with the Helen Bamber Foundation, we wrote to Priti Patel, the Home Secretary, to urgently provide a clear confirmation that all immigration reporting conditions will be suspended given the Covid-19 pandemic. The letter has been supported by 43 organisations across the sector.
We have received no response to our letter. However, on 19 March 2020 Sheffield Reporting Centre stated that all reporting had been suspended for at least one month, and that everyone that is required to report would receive a text informing them of this.
We welcome this approach. However, the Home Office now needs to be absolutely clear that immigration bail reporting requirements are suspended for all clients. We have therefore written to Priti Patel and to the Home Office for further clarification.
The Home Office must immediately publish guidance that reporting is suspended and update reporting centres’ voicemails to alert people that reporting conditions are suspended.
You can see the full text of the letter, alongside our communication with the Home Office on this matter, here.
If you wish to add your organisation’s support to our letters, or are working with migrants or are yourself affected by ongoing reporting condition, please email brian@migrantsorganise.org.
