By Camille Hulme, Supervising Solicitor, GMIAU and KIND in the UK
As a specialist immigration lawyer working for the Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit (GMIAU) in partnership with KIND in the UK, I see the devastating effect that insecure status has on refugee and migrant children and young people. But I also see their resilience. And, as I get to know them over the course of their case, I learn about their hopes for the future – one child who hopes to study law at university and become a lawyer, another who wants to become an entrepreneur and is full of ideas for new businesses, another who simply wants to go on a school trip abroad and does not want to be marked out as different from his peers.
In the UK, KIND partners with GMIAU and four other expert non-profit organisations (Central England Law Centre, Coram Children’s Legal Centre, JustRight Scotland, and the Migrant and Refugee Children’s Legal Unit at Islington Law Centre) on immigration and citizenship cases, providing free, independent legal advice and representation to these children and young people.
Together, we’re able to work on around 500 cases per year because of the KIND model of partnering with pro bono lawyers from corporate law firms and in-house legal departments. As a Supervising Solicitor, I bring my expertise in immigration law to train pro bono lawyers and supervise their work on cases. I work with lawyers from three different law firms, who are generally not immigration lawyers. They bring their expertise from other areas of law and turn their hand to KIND cases with incredible skill, enthusiasm, and sensitivity.
The children and young people with whom we work are often in very difficult situations, and the prospect of a future in permanent limbo, and even of possible separation from their families, looms large over their lives. The lawyers we work with approach their cases with compassion and understanding, and put in the same hard work they would with any commercial client.
I always notice how much they enjoy the client interaction aspect of KIND cases, and how often their legal skill and experience shine through to create trust and put our clients at ease. I see how motivated they are by getting to know these children and young people, and making a difference.
One recent case that stands out for me involved two siblings from a family who had settled in the UK as refugees. Both had become entitled to apply for British citizenship, but with the older sibling approaching adulthood, it was a race against time to secure their status before they turned 18.
Our team was successful and both children were granted British citizenship. The older sibling was due to start university and would now be able to attend as a British citizen with the same rights and opportunities as their peers. It also meant they would enter adulthood knowing that their future in the UK was safe and secure.
No matter how many child citizenship applications I work on, I am always struck by the complexity of the process, and how much time our team must put in to ensure the best chance of success. For too many children, the citizenship to which they are entitled is a dream that can remain out of reach without the legal assistance that KIND provides.
A Secure immigration status and stability is a crucial part of children’s mental health needs. The lives and futures of so many of the children we work with are clearly in the UK, and this is reflected in their dreams for the future – they want to be able to live, study, work and thrive in the country. They want to ‘officially’ belong in the country they call home.
One of the highlights of our work is being able to tell children and young people that their case has been successful, and they finally have the status they are entitled to under the law. I get an adrenaline rush every time. It’s a great feeling. It means all the hard work has paid off. I find it puts all of life’s problems into perspective.
I think it’s worthwhile even if we just help one child to have the future they deserve, but we win almost all the time. Across the UK, with our pro bono law firms and partners, we’re successful in 98% of cases that have an outcome, and at GMIAU, it’s 100%. This demonstrates not only the impact of supervised pro bono lawyers, but also children’s need for assistance in gaining the protection they need and deserve. I’m very proud of our successes because each time we have made a huge difference to someone’s life.
