Migrant Help
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| Migrant Help | |
|---|---|
| Name | Migrant Help |
| Type | Non-profit organisation |
| Founded | 1960s |
| Headquarters | United Kingdom |
| Services | Migrant support, legal advice, casework |
| Region served | United Kingdom, Europe |
Migrant Help
Migrant Help is a UK-based charity providing advice, casework, and advocacy for asylum seekers, refugees, and vulnerable migrants. It operates across the United Kingdom and engages with institutions and stakeholders to deliver services related to asylum, trafficking, modern slavery, and immigration detention. The organisation interfaces with a wide range of actors across humanitarian, legal, and policy arenas.
History
The organisation traces roots to post-war welfare initiatives and refugee relief efforts influenced by actors such as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and International Committee of the Red Cross, evolving alongside developments like the 1951 Refugee Convention and the expansion of European Convention on Human Rights. Its formation paralleled campaigns by groups including British Red Cross, Refugee Council, Oxfam, Amnesty International, and Save the Children during periods marked by crises in places such as Vietnam, Kosovo, Syria, and Afghanistan. Over decades it adapted to shifts triggered by events like the Balkan Wars, the Iraq War, and the Syrian Civil War, as well as legal changes exemplified by the Immigration Act 1971 and later legislation. Milestones included partnerships with statutory bodies such as the Home Office and collaborations with service providers affected by rulings from courts including the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom and the European Court of Human Rights.
Services and Programs
Migrant Help delivers direct assistance through helplines, outreach, casework, legal signposting, and safeguarding, drawing on models employed by organisations such as Refugee Action, British Red Cross, Barnardo's, Mencap, and Coram. Programmatic responses include support for victims of trafficking similar to services by Anti-Slavery International and clinical referral pathways used by NHS England and Public Health England. It administers contracts and frameworks comparable to those overseen by Local Government Association and engages in referral networks with agencies like Police Service of Northern Ireland and Metropolitan Police Service for safeguarding. The charity also provides training and information mirroring curricula from International Organization for Migration and United Nations Children's Fund for frontline staff.
Organizational Structure and Governance
Governance follows trustee-led models common to entities such as The Salvation Army, Shelter (charity), Citizens Advice, and Stonewall with board oversight, executive leadership, and regional operational managers. Its governance interacts with regulatory institutions like the Charity Commission for England and Wales and complies with standards from bodies akin to Fundraising Regulator and Care Quality Commission. Senior management liaises with legal advisers, auditors, and human resources teams similar to those in British Red Cross and Oxfam GB, and coordinates volunteering programs as seen in Refugee Council and Friends, Families and Travellers.
Funding and Partnerships
Funding streams include government contracts, philanthropic grants, institutional donors, and service agreements comparable to arrangements held by Migrant Help’s peers with entities such as Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Home Office, European Commission, Global Fund for Children, Big Lottery Fund, and private foundations like Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Partnerships span networks with academic institutions like University of Oxford, London School of Economics, King's College London, and research bodies such as Institute of Race Relations and Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Collaborations with legal firms, health services, and local authorities reflect models used by LawWorks, Medical Justice, Asylum Aid, and Refugee Legal Support. It also engages in consortia with charities including British Red Cross, Refugee Council, Red Cross EU Office, Migration Policy Institute, European Council on Refugees and Exiles, and international agencies like UNHCR and IOM.
Impact and Advocacy
The organisation contributes to policy debates and evidence bases alongside think tanks and advocacy groups such as Institute for Public Policy Research, Policy Exchange, Migration Watch UK, Institute of Race Relations, and Runnymede Trust. Its casework data informs submissions to parliamentary committees including the Home Affairs Select Committee and the Joint Committee on Human Rights, and it engages in campaigns with coalitions like Together with Refugees and Right to Remain. Impact evaluation draws on methodologies used by Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration reports and academic studies from University of Oxford Refugee Studies Centre and University of London. It has contributed to awareness-raising paralleling efforts by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International on issues of detention, trafficking, and access to legal aid.
Criticism and Controversies
As with many service providers working under government contracts, the organisation has faced scrutiny over contractual performance, oversight, and independence in contexts similar to controversies involving Serco Group, G4S, and other contractors. Critics from advocacy groups like Detention Action and Asylum Aid have raised concerns on transparency, data sharing, and adequacy of services amid policy shifts embodied by measures such as the Immigration Act 2016. Debates have involved parliamentary inquiries, media outlets such as The Guardian and BBC News, and NGOs including Medical Justice and Refugee Council questioning the implications of outsourcing welfare services and the balance between contractual obligations and humanitarian mandates.