We have an important update to share with all of you who have stood behind this case.
On 13–15 May, our barristers appeared before the Royal Courts of Justice to fight the cruel suspension of Refugee Family Reunion in the UK, in a significant and intense three-day hearing.
The numbers alone are staggering. Estimates suggest that between 550 and 1,360 children remain separated from their families for every single month the suspension continues. These are children and families from Afghanistan, Sudan, Yemen, Eritrea and beyond, people who have already survived war, persecution and unimaginable loss, and who now face an additional, entirely policy-made barrier to reuniting with the people they love.

But this case was never about numbers. Our barristers worked hard to place real human stories at the centre of the court's attention: the women left exposed to gender-based violence, the children who cannot reach their parents without risking their lives on dangerous journeys, the refugees already in the UK whose mental health is being devastated by the ongoing uncertainty and separation from their families. These are harms that were entirely foreseeable, and that the Government chose not to properly assess before acting.

That is one of the central arguments we put before the court: that this suspension was rushed, chaotic, and legally flawed. Families were given just four days' notice before it came into force. Internal government documents disclosed during the case revealed that ministers were actively looking for evidence to 'strengthen the argument' that refugee family arrivals were placing too heavy a burden on local authorities, and that their own officials warned that some of the options considered could actually encourage more small boat crossings, not fewer. Crucially, the Government had not properly assessed whether the suspension would even achieve its stated aim.

Perhaps most damning of all, the decision was made without any adequate consideration of its impact on some of the most vulnerable people in our society: refugees with complex needs, women and girls at risk of persecution and gender-based violence, children separated from their parents, and people whose mental health is already fragile after everything they have been through. The Government had a legal duty to assess those impacts. We argued that it failed to do so.

The Government's barrister defended the suspension throughout, describing it as a "reasonable and rational response" to pressures on public resources. We believe that argument cannot withstand scrutiny, and we said so as clearly and forcefully as we could.
Encouragingly, the judge acknowledged at the close of the hearing that he is aware the case has been expedited: a recognition that time matters here, and that the families affected cannot afford to wait. We expect the ruling to be handed down within the next few weeks.
We thank you for your donations so far: they have given us the confidence to carry this case forward and to stand in one of the country's highest courts on behalf of families who have no other recourse. You are part of this fight, and it matters.

We will keep you all up to date with the ruling.

It's official: in less than two months from now, we'll be in court challenging the Home Office's cruel suspension of Refugee Family Reunion. Thank you to everyone who's already donated - we've already raised 40% of our target!