Our view on the so-called ‘Illegal Migration Bill’
Our grassroots campaigning working group met recently. In addition to discussing our new campaign on a supportive environment - a compassionate and practical alternative to immigration detention, we also discussed the so-called 'Illegal Migration Bill', we agreed that we should produce our own brief statement on this Refugee Ban Bill [...]
Campaign win
With all of the bleakness at the moment around the current Refugee Ban Bill, we were keen to share news of a campaign win from one of our members. Our friends at Women for Refugee Women recently told us that following their legal challenge last year, on the lack of [...]
Napier Barracks – the inhumane reality
As the Illegal Migration Bill progresses at haste through Parliament, a new report by our friends at the Jesuit Refugee Service shines a unique light onto the asylum system, particularly Napier Barracks. Interviews with men held at Napier Barracks, a disused army base on a hilltop in Kent, show the [...]
Detention proposals in the new migration Bill
Further to our post last week about the Government's plans for asylum and immigration, and the robust response from the UNHCR, there has now been the second reading of the so-called 'Illegal Migration Bill' or rather the Refugee Ban Bill in the House of Commons. In the midst of all [...]
Extinguishing the right to asylum
It was incredibly sobering to hear the Government’s announcement this week on migration. Putting aside their use of language, calling people ‘illegal migrants’, when so many of them are people seeking safety and many of them will go onto be recognised as refugees with permission to stay in the country, [...]
Response to attack on Knowsley hotel
The Detention Forum was proud to be one of 180 groups which have signed an open letter to leaders of all parties in response to the attack on Friday 10th February on a hotel in Knowsley where asylum seekers are housed. The letter calls on party leaders to ‘take a clear [...]
Valentine’s Day Campaign Action
Our friends at Women for Refugee Women and the End Detention group, the lived experience group of women with experience of immigration detention, are taking action this Valentine’s Day! Valentine’s Day is a day of love, compassion and care. Yet for women in detention, it’s another painful reminder that they [...]
Amendment to short-term holding facility rules
Our friends at the Refugee Council recently highlighted that the government has quietly changed the rules on detention following the Manston crisis a month or so ago - extending lawful detention for people seeking refugee protection to 96 hours. The previous short-term holding facility rules 2018 stated that a "holding room” [...]