New report on destitution in Greater Manchester

People in Greater Manchester are spending years, even decades, in destitution

A new joint report by the Boaz Trust and Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit (GMIAU) has found that people in the city-region are forced into destitution for years, sometimes decades, as a result of their immigration status. One woman interviewed spent 16 years in immigration limbo.

The report, based on in-depth interviews with Greater Manchester residents, finds destitution is being used as a form of racialised violence, embedded within immigration law, which damages people’s physical and mental health, pushing some people towards self-harm and thoughts of suicide.

As well as making a series of recommendations to national government, the report also lays out what can be done to design destitution out of our city-region, building on positive regional developments in recent years.

“This report confirms what we have been witnessing for some years now: that people in our city-region are experiencing a form of slow violence committed against them, because of their immigration status. Years are being ripped out of people’s lives, too often driven by a relentless desire to see people disappear. Instead, we know given the chance many will go on to regularise their immigration status and flourish in Greater Manchester. We say: the wait and the suffering must end.”

Denise McDowell, Chief Executive at GMIAU

“As well as access to safe accommodation for people regardless of their immigration status, which we know is crucial for people’s physical and mental wellbeing, we need to see long-term funding for immigration advice so that people can regularise their status and move forward with their lives. We also want to see local authorities become Boroughs of Sanctuary, embedding a culture of welcome and best practice across all public services.”

Ros Holland, Chief Executive at the Boaz Trust

Read the report and policy briefing: