News review 2010

In the last couple of weeks, immigration was widely debated in the election campaign – from ‘bigot-gate’, to an amnesty for illegal immigrants, to caps on numbers coming here. Although the debate focused mainly on economic migration, asylum seekers and refugees were also brought into the argument, so we kept a close eye on politicians and media stories to ensure asylum seekers and refugees were accurately represented.

A gloomy fortnight for asylum news: the death of a refugee on a deportation flight causes outcry, the government announces Zimbabwe returns to resume, and a new report shows extent of poverty for refugees in Scotland.

In the last two weeks, the papers included stories on the trauma of asylum seekers in detention, and the fact many are detained for years with no prospect of being returned. And in other news, there were calls for rules on volunteering for asylum seekers to be changed, and for the detention of children to end for good.

This fortnight, the media reported on further cuts to legal aid for asylum seekers, and new statistics showed that while numbers of asylum applications have dropped, decisions being overturned at appeal are still high.

It's been a busy fortnight for asylum stories in the press, with the Supreme Court allowing 'fresh claim' asylum seekers to work, a ruling that fast-track deportations are unlawful, and a report from the Inspector of Prisons condemning dawn raids, all causing a stir.

Child detention dominated the asylum news this fortnight: Nick Clegg confirmed an announcement on child detention would be made before Christmas, charities slammed a new centre for families being removed, and a Refugee Council client spoke out about his experiences in detention in a Channel 4 documentary.

Media stories on asylum in the past fortnight include the continued outcry after the closure of Refugee and Migrant Justice, the government's announcement of an immigration cap, and why asylum seeking children are being deported to other EU countries.

In the news this fortnight, Damian Green made a gaffe about minimising child detention, a controversial flight to return refused asylum seekers to Iraq went ahead, and the government proposed to put local people ahead of immigrants in the queue for council housing.

Another busy fortnight for asylum stories, as the UKBA launches pilots as an alternative to child detention, refugee teachers talk about the barriers they face in getting jobs, and a young Refugee Council client speaks out about the government's proposals to return young people to Afghanistan.

Asylum stories caused fierce debate in the media this fortnight, after the Supreme Court allowed two gay asylum seekers to stay in the UK, a detention centre was deemed unsafe for asylum seekers, and a refugee was given a £2m council house in a smart area of London.

With Refugee Week, it’s been a busy fortnight with many celebratory and inspiring refugee stories in the media. However, the announcement of a ‘reintegration centre’ for young asylum seekers in Kabul, the return of asylum seekers to Iraq, and the closure of Refugee and Migrant Justice were stories that have given us great cause for concern.

In asylum news this fortnight, outrage as Glasgow is forced to stop housing asylum seekers, a Somalian refugee from London is hailed a hero for helping kidnapped couple to freedom, and child detention is further delayed by the government.

A high profile fortnight for refugee and immigration issues in the press: new Labour leader Ed Miliband paid tribute to his refugee background, children's author Micheal Morpurgo called for an end to child detention, and an X-Factor contestant faced deportation to Zimbabwe.

This fortnight, asylum news has been dominated by the tragic death of over 30 asylum seekers in a shipwreck off the coast of Australia. In some happier news, Nick Clegg announced the date the government would end child detention, and confirmed no children would be spending Christmas in a detention centre.