Migrant Digital Justice

The Migrant Digital Justice programme empowers the migrants’ rights sector to challenge technologies used in immigration controls.

The hostile environment policy gives the Home Office sweeping powers and the mandate to access personal data from GPs, hospitals, schools, and job centres. This data is used to track down individuals for immigration, detention or deportation.

We work in partnership with organisations supporting all categories of migrants and refugees to address digital rights and privacy issues affecting their clients and understand how data sharing and new technologies are influencing immigration policy.

We also work with a range of stakeholders including government, the Home Office, Parliament, the Independent Chief Inspector for Borders and Immigration (ICIBI) to drive policy change.

MIGRANT DIGITAL JUSTICE TOOLKIT

Explore our specially designed toolkit for the migrants’ rights sector. It includes practical information and advice to campaign against the increasing collection of personal data, data sharing and new technologies driving immigration controls.

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Migrants’ Digital Rights

The Data Protection and Digital Information Bill threatens to severely impact migrants, refugees and asylum seekers.

How the DPDI Bill harms migrants’ data rights

The Data Protection and Digital Information Bill will exacerbate the existing power imbalances of migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers over their data.

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WATCH OUR WEBINAR

How ‘Data: a new direction’ will impact migrants rights and the immigration sector.

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23 May 2023 By Sara Alsherif

Migrants’ Data Rights Under Attack

If you are a migrant in the UK, asylum seeker, refugee or working on this issue, you must read this carefully.
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Refugee Week: Digital Rights Tips

For Refugee Week 2023 we’ve published seven tips for refugees and migrants to exercise digital rights effectively in the UK.
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CHALLENGE THE CHECKS

The Government’s ‘hostile environment’ policies have brought immigration enforcement into every area of life, including the workplace. With the Migrants’ Rights Network and Migrants At Work, we’re challenging the right to work checks.

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Immigration Exception

“Immigration exemption” ruled unlawful under GDPR

When the “immigration exemption” became law as part of the 2018 Data Protection Act, it threatened the data rights of all UK residents, including British citizens.
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“Immigration exemption” ruled unlawful under GDPR

Victory for migrants as judge rules immigration exemption is incompatible with GDPR

A High Court judge has agreed with Open Rights Group and the3million that the immigration exemption in the UK Data Protection Act 2018 is incompatible with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
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Keep up to date with developments in data and technology affecting our immigration and migrants’ rights.

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Stop Data Discrimination

The government wants to make it easier for companies and authorities to use your data against you.
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Stop Data Discrimination

The Story So Far

Government does the bare minimum to update the Immigration Exemption

ORG and the3million took the Government to court several times before the Government accepted that the Immigration Exemption was unlawful.
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Fines Hiked For Firms Employing Illegal Migrants

The recent announcement by Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick regarding the proposed rules to triple fines for businesses and landlords supposedly supporting illegal migrants has ignited significant concerns, calling for careful reconsideration, as their implications run deep and require immediate attention.
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Migrants’ Data Rights Under Attack

If you are a migrant in the UK, asylum seeker, refugee or working on this issue, you must read this carefully.
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Introducing Sara Alsherif

Hello everyone,  My name is Sara Alsherif, and I am excited to introduce myself as the new Programme Manager for the Migrant Digital Justice Programme.
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Data Sharing and Migrant Women Reporting Abuse

On 9 December 2022, The Wales Cross Party Group on Digital Rights and Democracy, of which Open Rights Group is the secretariat, held its second session, this time held on data sharing and migrant women reporting domestic abuse.
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EDRi’s first Colour of Surveillance Europe Conference

In September, European Digital Rights (EDRi) held the first Colour of Surveillance Europe Conference in Amsterdam and it was such a privilege for me to be selected to attend both days of the conference.
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Migrant Digital Justice Toolkit

How-to-fight data discrimination – launching a new toolkit for the migrants’ rights sector The Migrant Digital Justice Programme (MDJP) at ORG is proud to launch our Migrant Digital Justice Toolkit.
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‘Prevent’ and the attack on free speech

A review of the government’s controversial Prevent duty has been a long time coming.
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New name and start for our migration work

Since its inception in 2020, our immigration, data and technology programme has worked to understand the needs and capacities of civil society organisations in the field of migrant’ rights and support them to incorporate digital advocacy in their work.
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Government disregards Court’s Immigration Exemption ruling

This week the House of Commons and the House of Lords will consider the Government’s proposed legislation regarding amendments to the immigration exemption.
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Newsletter: Migration, Data and Digital Rights

Welcome to the November edition of Migration, Data and Digital Rights!
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Afghans targeted by fake Home Office website

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is currently deciding whether it will take further action against a fake website created by the Home Office.
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Digital deception & disinformation used to deter migrants

The Information Commissioner’s Office has opened an investigation into a fake website created by the Home Office.
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Immigration, Data & Technology Newsletter

Welcome to the July edition of Immigration, Data and Technology!
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Newsletter: Immigration, Data and Technology

Welcome to the May edition of Immigration, Data and Technology!
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Immigration, Data and Technology newsletter

Welcome to the third edition of Immigration, Data and Technology!
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Europe cannot rubber stamp the UK’s data laws

The United Kingdom is currently awaiting a decision from Europe on whether it provides adequate standards of data protection.
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Data & Immigration update – February newsletter

Welcome to the second edition of Immigration, Data and Technology!
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How will the National Data Strategy affect migrants and refugees?

In early September the government launched its National Data Strategy (NDS) which it described as ‘an ambitious, pro-growth strategy that aims to drive the UK in building a world-leading data economy while ensuring public trust in data use.
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Data & Trust: Will migrants use the NHS app?

A fortnight ago, the NHSX Covid-19 App was launched across England and Wales following the many concerns raised by civil society and privacy advocates including Open Rights Group (ORG) both collectively and individually regarding privacy and security.
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Immigration sector privacy concerns

As part of ORG’s work in the area of immigration we have consulted 30 organisations on their priorities and needs.
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Immigration Bill brings surveillance to EU migrants

The UK immigration regime is set for major changes, as the UK leaves the EU.
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Data, privacy and new tech in the immigration sector

Understanding the needs and capacities to deal with data, privacy and the use of new technologies in the immigration sector Please take a moment to answer our survey on the immigration sector needs and capacities to deal with privacy, personal data, digital and technological changes: https://www.
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NHSX tracking app Privacy Assessment: Key Concerns

NHSX finally released the Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) for their contact tracing app at the weekend.
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Hostile environment may stop migrants from using NHSX tracker app

This week the Government confirmed that the NHSX app being developed as a response to the Covid-19 pandemic is using a centralised contact matching system.
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Contact tracing apps & vulnerable migrants: key concerns

In our recent blog we discussed the emerging privacy issues around contact tracing and ‘immunity passports’, and the announcement from Google and Apple that they are jointly working on a contact tracing app.
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Brexit, Data Privacy and the EU Settled Status Scheme

The EU Settled Status Scheme (“the scheme”) provides the administrative route through which all EU nationals must apply to remain in the UK after 30 June 2021, in the event of a deal, or 31 December 2020, in the event of no deal.
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What is at stake with the immigration exemption legal challenge?

The immigration exemption in the Data Protection Act 2018 will remove key data protection rights for everyone in the United Kingdom.
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The Data Protection Bill’s Immigration Exemption must go

The government has introduced a sweeping “immigration exemption” in Schedule 2, Paragraph 4.
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