Dearth, Weight, and Worth: The implicit and explicit interactions between immigration policy, homelessness and exploitation in the United Kingdom, a practitioner’s view.

• In Event: Criminology of Mobility. Panel 3. Refugees and social control

Abstract

Non-UK nationals are a growing population experiencing destitution and homelessness within the UK (Crisis, 2019; 2021), including a worrying increase of EEA nationals post-Brexit, facing precariousness, confusion and fear (Mort et al, 2023). Immigration policies have further compounded these vulnerabilities, restricting the movements and eligibility of non-UK nationals looking to settle in the UK, by limiting access to available services, legal aid and support, and ultimately criminalising them through legislation (Stewart & Sanders, 2023). These attempts to achieve the ‘hostile environment’ accentuate the individuals’ vulnerabilities, making them susceptible to (re)exploitation, worsened by the conflation of modern slavery with immigration control (Hodkinson et al 2021). This research aims to address and redress the current understandings of immigration policy and its inevitable links with destitution and exploitation, by investigating how the relevant social policies and consequential crimmigration practices impact the vulnerability of non-UK nationals experiencing homelessness to exploitation in Greater Manchester. The early findings of a PhD thesis regarding the analysis of focus groups and the progress to date will be presented. The two focus groups, conducted with professionals working in the relevant sectors in Greater Manchester, produced the themes of dearth, weight, and worth which highlight the machinations of multiple systems rigged to fail those they purport to help. Exploring the research questions through a critical crimmigration lens, this thesis will contribute to current discussions around the impact of immigration policy on destitution, and exploitation, particularly relevant with the increasing anti-immigration sentiment, fortifying of borders, and rising levels of poverty. This thesis will attempt to create a coherent understanding which can aid in developing and advocating for tangible and long-lasting recommendations.

Author

• Megan Hadfield, University of Manchester