Thoughts from URBC on recent student occupations and fee strikes.


Unis Resist Border Controls (URBC) a national campaign comprising migrant students, lecturers, and activists fighting to end the two pronged beasts within UK higher education, that being of course border control via the hostile environment policy and exploitation brought on my neoliberal, marketised education. Unlike the student movement ten years ago which ignored the plight of international students, URBC has been a steadfastly free education campaign, believing that the fight for free education should be extended to migrants, whatever their immigration status.

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Caroline Lucas Agrees with URBC: “It is cruel for the Government to simply abandon international students”

A member of Unis Resist Border Controls (URBC) shared this response they received from Caroline Lucas, MP for Brighton Pavilion. This response follows taking part in our #MichelleMocksStudents action where we asked supporters to send this template letter to their MPs demanding #TuitionFeeAmnesty for international students affected by the multiple UK COVID-19 lockdowns.

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URBC Supports Sisters Uncut, UKBLM, & Others in Abolishing the Police, Crime, Courts and Sentencing Bill, #KillTheBill!

URBC member Louisa, speaking at the Sisters Uncut Manchester #KillTheBill protest, 20 March 2021.

Statement from URBC, #KillTheBill

 Unis Resist Border Control (URBC) stands in rage and solidarity with Sisters Uncut and all other prison and border abolition organisations in opposition to the Police, Crime, Courts and Sentencing Bill. It’s been a long week. we are thankful for all the work Sisters Uncut in London have done for linking the disappearance of Sarah Everard to wider issues about policing, state violence and highlighting the dangers of this bill.

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Emma Hardy, Shadow Minister for Universities has Resigned: URBC Documents Her Incompetence

Tweet from URBC saying "you're a hypocrite Emma Hardy MP! We warned you of this problem our #TuitionFeeAmnestyNow letter on 10 August 2020, 7 months ago! Don't pretend that you are appalled NOW when you failed to give us & the 500 lecturers, international students & union reps an adequate response!"
Former shadow minister for FE & universities tweeting on the 24th February 2021, concerning the situation of international student accessing food banks. URBC sent her a letter endorsed by 530 university lecturers, students (international and British) and union representatives about the precarity of international students during the first COVID lockdown on the 10 August 2020, and never received an adequate response from Hardy’s office.

Emma Hardy stepped down from her role as shadow minister for universities on Monday 8th March. Replacing Emma Hardy is Matt Western, MP for Warwick and Leamington. Western, married to Rebecca Earle, Professor in the Department of History at the University of Warwick, is described in his They Work For You profile as having consistently voted against a stricter asylum system, yet there isn’t much information about his votes on higher education policy to ascertain his views on the current untenable situation in UK universities.

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Trade union work & building movements to fight the hostile environment: be like Birmingham UCU!

Tweet from Birmingham UCU that says "our new anti-racism working group made its first recommendations to the branch this week - all agreed in full. we're backing two key anti-racism campaigns aligned with our principles of promoting anti-racism: UnisNotBorders and FreeBlackUni"

Unis Resist Border Controls (URBC) would like to thank the University of Birmingham branch of UCU for their donation of £250 pounds to URBC. Donations like these help us to sustain our work organizing, campaigning and providing casework support for those facing the hostile environment.

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