We are here to stay Inna Inglan: The role of Immigration Policies in the 'Un-Homing' of British Windrush Descendants.

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In light of the wrongful citizenship deprivation of members of the 'Windrush Generation' through the 2014 Hostile Environment policy, there has been a renewed interest in the experiences of this group of West Indian, British Subjects who arrived in the UK from the former colonies between 1948-71 (Williams, 2020). But what has the impact been on their British born descendants who have citizenship? While their legal status has not been jeopardised, this research asks, what has the impact been on their ontological security within their British Identity?The principal aim of the research is to interrogate this question by considering the role of racialised, immigration legislation in triggering insecurity within a citizens self-perceived national identity; a process which will be referred to as 'ontologically un-homing'. Research Questions - What is the role of post-war British Immigration legislation in 'ontologically un-homing' British, Windrush descendants? How has post-war immigration legislation developed to progressively limit the mobility and social rights of the Windrush Generation and their descendants? How do social occurrences shape ontological security within national identity, amongst British Windrush descendants? Theoretical Framework - Ontological security concerns the security of the self in one's identity, this research proposes to apply this concept to the experiences of those of Afro-Caribbean descent who, research suggests, have been subjected to state control through an evolving 'security agenda'. Scholarship suggests that the post-war period was characterised by a proliferation of immigration legislation, which excluded Black, West Indian people from British Citizenship, whilst leaving racialised 'patrial' loopholes to citizenship for white, Commonwealth Citizens (Hall, 2014). Scholarship also indicates that a system of 'Crimmigration' has gradually emerged; a complex marriage of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Systems (Bhatia, 2020). A highly publicised impact of these systems of control on those of the West Indian Diaspora living in Britain, is that many individuals have faced a 'double punishment' of domestic imprisonment and subsequent deportation, to countries which they left as young children or have never lived in (Townsend, 2021). Relatives and community members have thus felt compelled to advocate on behalf of those whose citizenship has been denied. Although some scholarship has interrogated the evolution of such systems of control, little focus has been placed on the ontological impact of this on the British-born relatives of those who have been physically 'un-homed' through citizenship deprivation and deportation. The project will thus consider the impact of changing immigration legislation on descendants, for whom Britain is their sole de jure home. Methodology - The research will draw upon a triangulation of primary and secondary methods to evaluate the interplay between immigration legislation and lived identity. The research will commence with a socio-legal analysis of developments in domestic immigration legislation, the accompanying commentary and the impact on those of the West Indian Diaspora. It will adopt sources such as legislation and Hansard publications from 1948-onwards; a period characterised by a notable West Indian movement to the UK, and frequent legislative initiatives to curb this settlement. It will also utilise qualitative sources developed by those of Afro-Caribbean lineage, including poetry, music and community publications. The final element of the research will involve semi-structured interviews with approximately 30 Black and Mixed-Heritage descendants and community activists who currently reside in Britain. The data from which will be used to explore the impact of an evolving immigration regime on a sense of national identity, whilst also considering the role of racism and political occurrences.