Weekly Economics Podcast: The Hostile Environment during coronavirus
Ayeisha Thomas-Smith is joined by the JCWI's Zoe Gardner and Akram Salhab from Migrants Organise
03 July 2020
The end of June marked the anniversary of the arrival of the Windrush Generation in the UK, and sparked renewed conversations about the Hostile Environment. It’s been reported that UK immigration policies have stopped migrants from getting healthcare during the Covid-19 pandemic, despite a government exemption from immigration checks and fees. Just this week, MPs passed a new immigration bill which ends freedom of movement and introduces a point-based system instead.
So, how has the Hostile Environment affected people, particularly during the pandemic? Have migrants been hit harder by Covid-19? And what does the new immigration bill mean for migrant communities in the UK?
We’re back for a new series of the Weekly Economics Podcast, Ayeisha is joined by Zoe Gardner, Policy Advisor at the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI), and Akram Salhab, Advocacy and Campaigns Officer at Migrants Organise.
Take a look at the New Deal on Migration on the JCWI’s website.
Read new research from Migrants Organise, Medact and NEF looking at how the Hostile Environment is preventing migrants accessing healthcare during the pandemic.
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Image: Global Justice Now, (CC BY 2.0)
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