UK shields Windrush children from deportation The UK has secretly struck a deal with Jamaica to end the deportation of Jamaican citizens who came to the UK under the age of 12. The deal comes after tens of black celebrities asked airlines not to comply with a Home Office deportation flight scheduled for the start of December. Civil society is left wondering why the deal was struck in secrecy, and urges the government to extend the policy to all children below 18, regardless of their country of origin. European court finds deportation of father contrary to the right to family life The European Court of Human Rights held in a unanimous ruling that the deportation of a father of three by the UK violated his right to family life (Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights). One of his children, a British citizen, has a serious heart condition for which treatment is not available in their country of origin, Nigeria. The European court considered that the “strength of the applicant’s ties to his partner and children” and the need for his parental support was so acute that his deportation would have been disproportionate and against the best interests of the child. Spain and Frontex negotiate new operation to close the Canary Islands migration route The Spanish authorities and the European Border and Coast Guard Agency Frontex have set up a joint operation to stop migrants coming from West Africa by boat, in reaction to increased arrivals in the Canary Islands. Negotiations are at a preliminary stage, but Frontex agents have already started to support the Spanish national police in identification procedures. The sea crossings have resulted in increasing numbers of deaths. In one week at the end of October,  480 people died or were reported missing (Euromed statement). New report sheds light on migrant deaths in the English Channel The Institute of Race Relations, GISTI and the Permanent People’s Tribunal London have published a new report that documents the increased securitisation of Franco-British border areas, forcing migrants to find other, more dangerous passageways. It also reflects on the human cost of these policies, uncovering the circumstances that resulted in the deaths of nearly 300 migrants in or around the Channel since 1999 and giving victims of border violence an identity and a history.