‘Routine’ housing of unaccompanied child asylum seekers in hotels is unlawful, High Court rules
The “routine” housing of unaccompanied child asylum seekers in hotels by the Home Office is unlawful, the High Court has ruled.
The charity, Every Child Protected Against Trafficking (ECPAT), had brought legal action against the Home Office over the practice of housing unaccompanied youngsters in Home Office hotels – claiming the arrangements are “not fit for purpose”.
In his ruling, Mr Justice Chamberlain said the use of hotels for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children has become unlawful.
He told the court the power to place children in hotels “may be used on very short periods in true emergency situations”.
The judge added: “It cannot be used systematically or routinely in circumstances where it is intended, or functions in practice, as a substitute for local authority care.”
He said the use of hotels cannot be seen as an “emergency” measure given the length of their use.
“From December 2021 at the latest, the practice of accommodating children in hotels, outside local authority care, was both systematic and routine and had become an established part of the procedure for dealing with unaccompanied asylum-seeking children,” the judge said.
“From that point on, the home secretary’s provision of hotel accommodation for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children exceeded the proper limits of her powers and was unlawful.
“There is a range of options open to the home secretary to ensure that unaccompanied asylum-seeking children are accommodated and looked after as envisaged by parliament.
“It is for her to decide how to do so.”
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Home Secretary Suella Braverman’s provision of hotels for asylum-seeking children ‘was unlawful’, the judge ruled
Kent County Council acting unlawfully in failing to accommodate children
ECPAT’s bid was heard in London alongside similar claims brought by Brighton and Hove City Council and Kent County Council against the department.
The Home Office and Department for Education had opposed the legal challenges and said the hotel use was lawful but was “deployed effectively as a ‘safety net’ and as a matter of necessity”.
As well as finding the Home Office’s use of hotels to house child asylum seekers unlawful, the judge said Kent County Council is acting unlawfully in failing to accommodate and look after unaccompanied asylum-seeking children.
He said: “In ceasing to accept responsibility for some newly arriving unaccompanied asylum seeking children, while continuing to accept other children into its care, Kent County Council chose to treat some unaccompanied asylum seeking children differently from and less favourably than other children, because of their status as asylum seekers.”
The court heard at the time of the hearing in the claims earlier this month, 154 children remained missing from the hotels, including a 12-year-old.
The US House of Representatives has voted in favor of nullifying a rule that would have required decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols to report to the Internal Revenue Service.
On March 11, the House of Representatives voted 292 for and 132 against a motion to repeal the so-called IRS DeFi broker rule that aimed to expand existing IRS reporting requirements to crypto.
All 132 votes to keep the rule were Democrats. However, 76 of those in the party joined the Republican vote to repeal it.
This follows the US Senate’s March 4 vote on the motion to repeal, which saw it pass with a vote of 70 to 27.
The rule would force DeFi platforms, such as decentralized exchanges, to disclose gross proceeds from crypto sales, including information regarding taxpayers involved in the transactions.
Speaking after the vote, Republican Representative Mike Carey, who submitted the repeal motion, said, “The DeFi broker rule invades the privacy of tens of millions of Americans, hinders the development of an important new industry in the United States and would overwhelm the IRS.”
Congressman Mike Carey speaking after the vote. Source: Mike Carey
House Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill also applauded the overturning of the rule, calling it “a clear example of government overreach that threatens to push American digital asset development overseas.”
The resolution will need to pass another Senate vote before being sent to President Donald Trump, who has signaled he’d support it.
Those opposing the rule repeal included Democrat Representative Lloyd Doggett, who said getting a “special interest exemption” from IRS disclosures “makes tax evasion and money laundering so much easier for wealthy Republican donors who have been using these decentralized exchanges.”
He claimed killing the rule would create a “loophole that would be exploited by wealthy tax cheats, drug traffickers and terrorist financiers.”
Related: US lawmakers advance resolution to repeal ‘unfair’ crypto tax rule
In early March, White House AI and crypto czar David Sacks said the administration would support congressional efforts to rescind the DeFi broker rule.
At the time, officials from the Office of Management and Budget wrote “This rule … would stifle American innovation and raise privacy concerns over the sharing of taxpayers’ personal information, while imposing an unprecedented compliance burden on American DeFi companies.”
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Securities exchange Cboe BZX is seeking permission from US regulators to incorporate staking into Fidelity’s Ether exchange-traded fund (ETF), according to a March 11 filing.
The filing marks Cboe’s latest attempt to support staking for the Ether (ETH) funds traded on its US exchange.
Cboe’s proposed rule change would allow Fidelity Ethereum Fund (FETH) to “stake, or cause to be staked, all or a portion of the Trust’s ether through one or more trusted staking providers,” the filing said.
The Fidelity Ethereum Fund is among the most popular Ether ETFs, with nearly $1 billion in assets under management, according to data from VettaFi.
In February, Cboe asked permission to add staking to another Ether ETF, the 21Shares Core Ethereum ETF.
Staking Ether enhances returns and involves posting ETH as collateral with a validator in exchange for rewards.
As of March 11, staking Ether yields approximately 3.3% APR, denominated in ETH, according to Staking Rewards.
Other popular cryptocurrencies, including Solana (SOL), also feature staking mechanisms.
Staking rewards by asset type. Source: Staking Rewards
Related: SEC seeks comment on in-kind redemptions for Bitcoin, Ether ETFs
Proposed rule changes
The US Securities and Exchange Commission must still approve Cboe’s proposed rule changes before staking can commence.
In February, the SEC acknowledged more than a dozen exchange filings related to cryptocurrency ETFs, according to records.
The SEC’s acknowledgments highlight how the agency has softened its stance on crypto since US President Donald Trump started his second term on Jan. 20.
In addition to staking, the filings, submitted by Cboe and other exchanges, addressed proposed rule changes concerning options, in-kind redemptions and new types of altcoin funds.
Cboe has also asked permission to list Canary and WisdomTree’s proposed XRP (XRP) ETFs and support in-kind creations and redemptions for Fidelity’s Bitcoin (BTC) and ETH ETFs, among other proposed changes.
Magazine: MegaETH launch could save Ethereum… but at what cost?
A member of the Texas legislature has proposed a bill that could limit the amount local and state authorities invest in cryptocurrency as a reserve asset.
In a bill filed on March 10, Texas Representative Ron Reynolds proposed the state’s comptroller not be allowed to invest more than $250 million of its Economic Stabilization Fund — otherwise known as a “rainy day” fund — in Bitcoin (BTC) or other cryptocurrencies. The legislation also suggested that Texas municipalities or counties could not invest more than $10 million in crypto.
HB 4258, filed by Texas Representative Ron Reynolds. Source: Texas legislature
The proposed bill followed the Texas Senate passing legislation on March 6 to establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve in the state. The SB 21 bill seemingly could allow the Texas comptroller to have no limit on purchasing BTC for a reserve, based on the most recent draft.
Related: Bitcoin reserve backlash signals unrealistic industry expectations
The plan for a strategic Bitcoin reserve in Texas was one of many separate bills proposed in US state governments following the inauguration of President Donald Trump and Republican lawmakers winning control of the US House of Representatives and Senate. Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick said in January that the state’s legislative priorities for 2025 would include a proposal to establish a Texas Bitcoin Reserve.
Is there a partisan divide on state and federal crypto plans?
It’s unclear if Rep. Reynolds, a Democrat, intended to support the BTC reserve bill introduced by State Senator Charles Schwertner, a Republican, or propose restrictions in the event the legislation becomes law. If passed and signed by Governor Greg Abbott, the bill would take effect on Sept. 1. Cointelegraph reached out to Rep. Reynolds’ office for comment but did not receive a response at the time of publication.
Though Trump signed an executive order on March 7 to create a federal “Strategic Bitcoin Reserve” and “Digital Asset Stockpile,” many legal experts have questioned the US president’s authority to enact specific policies through EOs. Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis reintroduced legislation on March 11 to codify the proposed BTC reserve into law in the Senate.
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