After fourteen years of Conservative governments defined by the infamous hostile environment launched by Home Secretary Theresa May, a new Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, seems eager to build her political profile by weaponising the migration issue once again. The search for a new catchphrase may still be on, but the underlying message feels all too... Continue Reading →
We are delighted to announce our seminar series for this academic term. All seminars are free and open to the public. They will be held in Room 1150, Muirhead Tower, University of Birmingham. In the first seminar on 20 October, Nando Sigona examines the migration agenda of the Labour government in its first year in... Continue Reading →
Nando Sigona, University of Birmingham In her address to the Labour party conference, the new home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, confirmed plans to overhaul the rules for indefinite leave to remain (ILR). These include increasing the time someone must live in the UK to be eligible for ILR from five years to ten. ILR is the... Continue Reading →
July 2025 marked a significant month for the Institute for Research into International Migration & Superdiversity (IRiS) in Brazil, as Dr Angelo Martins Junior represented the University of Birmingham in a series of academic, diplomatic, and community-focused activities across the country. His engagements spanned the Amazon, São Paulo, Campinas, and Brasília, deepening IRIS’ international collaborations... Continue Reading →
In a new analysis piece for OpenDemocracy, Nando Sigona and Stefano Piemontese draws on the I-CLAIM research in the UK with food delivery riders to examine how the cosying up of Home Office and platform employers is impacting on food delivery workers. https://nandosigona.info/2025/08/08/the-home-office-is-everyone-delivery-riders-caught-between-algorithms-and-immigration-raids/?page_id=5535
Reports document the lived experiences of migrant workers experiencing legal vulnerability in the UK’s food delivery and domestic work sectors A team of researchers at the University of Birmingham, led by Professor Nando Sigona, has released two new reports exposing how migrant workers experience exploitation and legal vulnerability in the UK’s food delivery and domestic... Continue Reading →
David Stark and Lisa Goodson, IRIS, University of Birmingham A policy turning inwards At the Institute for Research into International Migration and Superdiversity (IRIS), we examine migration and superdiversity through empirical research grounded in lived experience. We do this from Birmingham, one of the UK’s most ethnically diverse cities and a place where migration is... Continue Reading →
Nando Sigona, University of Birmingham The immigration debate has long shaped political agendas in the US and Europe, often escalating in times of social or economic uncertainty. In the US election, a tough-on-immigration stance from president-elect Donald Trump, including promises of mass deportations, appears to have resonated with voters. History shows that these policies may... Continue Reading →
The Academy of Social Sciences is delighted to welcome 45 leading social scientists to our Fellowship this autumn. Spanning a range of research and practice areas including urban governance and public policy, health technology assessment, hunger and food insecurity, migration and forced displacement, and international law, our newly elected Fellows highlight the importance, breadth and... Continue Reading →
Conversations with Iris: Podcast on migration, diversity and displacement
The Age of Superdiversity 