A high court found the Home Secretary acted unlawfully by failing to provide thousands of migrants with documents to prove their legal status.
Along with charity Ramfel, Cecilia Adjei, a healthcare worker and mother-of-two who has lived in Britain since emigrating from Ghana in 2000, brought the legal challenge against the government.
They claimed hundreds of thousands of migrants may have been affected by the Home Office failing to provide documents showing they were in the country legally while their visa extension applications remained ongoing – a special status known as ‘3C leave’.
Ms Adjei and the charity added that some people had their jobs put at risk, while others faced difficulties getting education, healthcare and housing.
The story bears resemblance to the Windrush Scandal, which saw dozens of people wrongly deported from the UK despite having lived the vast majority of their lives in the country.
Announcing their ruling on the more recent case, Judge Cavanagh said yesterday: ‘The evidence clearly establishes that a substantial number of those on section 3C leave suffer real hardship through being unable to provide immediate documentary proof of their immigration status and attendant rights.’
He added: ‘The underlying purpose of the legislative framework is that there should be a hostile and unwelcoming environment for those who are unlawfully present and so who are undocumented.
‘The corollary of this is that those who are lawfully here should not face the hostile environment.
‘That can only happen if they are documented.’
Speaking with the Guardian, Ms Adjei said: ‘What I went through while waiting for my visa to be extended by the Home Office was really stressful.
‘I was unable to prove that I had the right to work so was suspended from my employment as a healthcare support worker twice, without any notice.’
She added: ‘I have two children and have to budget very carefully, so we suffered real hardship when my wages suddenly stopped.
‘I had to borrow money and visit a food bank just to get by. It was humiliating and scary as I didn’t have any way to prove to my employer that I still had the correct immigration status and the right to work.’
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