Asylum rejected: ‘appeal rights exhausted' Afghan care leavers facing return

Abstract

Kim Robinson and Lucy Williams focus on young Afghan men’s asylum claims in terms of their family background, citizenship and immigration status within the Care system under vulnerability. All young Afghans have had their asylum claims considered classified as Appeals Rights Exhausted and face return to Afghanistan. The chapter reveals how young Afghans’ narratives speak of a dangerous place where they have no links or connections yet at the same time, their description of the UK is often negative and critical of the support they have received here. The findings illustrate how immigration policies impact on marginality and affect the daily lives of these young people who are caught between two unpalatable futures, one back in Afghanistan and one living in destitution and illegality in the UK.