Children’s rights in the context of parental deportation: Pushing back on the attack of Article 8

Children’s rights in the context of parental deportation: Pushing back on the attack of Article 8

Start: Friday 13 June 2025 at 12:00 pm United Kingdom Time

End: Friday 13 June 2025 at 1:00 pm United Kingdom Time

Virtual event: A link to attend will be emailed upon RSVP

This webinar is based on the findings of a research project commissioned by Social Workers Without Borders and Bail for Immigration Detainees, investigating the procedural protections for children impacted by parental deportation.

Recent policy changes have seen successive Governments lean into the criminalisation of people who migrate, creating new immigration offences with increasingly harsh punishments. This is set against a backdrop of politicians citing the use of Article 8 ‘right to family and private life’ as obstructing the Home Office’s pursuit of immigration enforcement, and this being used to rationalise calls to abandon or derogate from obligations under the European Convention of Human Rights.

Often overlooked in this political rhetoric are the children who are impacted by these decisions, children at risk of being separated from, or forcibly removed alongside their parent. We will share our findings about how children’s welfare is (or isn’t) considered in the context of parental deportation decisions, shining a light on flimsy procedural protections for children, and inconsistencies in how the law interprets children’s right to a family life in different legal jurisdictions. Finally, we will suggest that legal cross-pollination provides opportunities to strengthen children’s rights protections in the context of immigration enforcement.

SPEAKERS:

Naomi Jackson, Social Workers Without Borders

Naomi Jackson is the Managing Director of Social Workers Without Borders. Naomi is a social worker by professional background and has worked in the statutory and charity sector. Naomi is also a post-graduate researcher in the European Children’s Rights Unit at the University of Liverpool.

Social Workers Without Borders provide Independent Social Work Reports to be used as expert evidence in immigration and asylum matters, additionally SWWB campaign on issues at the intersection of social practice and immigration policy, and provide education and training.

Carmen Kearney, Bail for Immigration Detainees

Carmen Kearney is legal manager of the Article 8 Deportation Advice (ADA) Project at Bail for Immigration Detainees. Carmen has worked in deportation advice since 2014. Prior to that, she was a legal adviser at Asylum Aid.

Bail for Immigration Detainees is a legal charity providing advice and representation to individuals detained under immigration powers. The ADA Project provides legal advice and representation to individuals challenging deportation based on length of residence and family life in the UK.

Link to register for this event: Children’s rights in the context of parental deportation: Pushing back on the attack of Article 8