Living outside the fence: Story of Haslar
By Charlie Leddy-Owen, University of Portsmouth. When visiting Haslar Immigration Removal Centre (IRC) for the first time I was struck by the pleasantness of the local area. Haslar’s western boundary adjoins a residential neighbourhood of detached and semi-detached housing, whilst immediately over the southernmost fence you’ll find a golf course [...]
Immigration Detention and the Scottish Referendum
29 September 2014 (We asked our friend, Detention Forum Scotland, to tell us their hope for the detention inquiry in light of the 'NO' vote for the Scottish Referendum.) Many organisations working within the field of migration, and the individuals whose lives are affected daily by UK immigration policy, waited [...]
Too many laws, not enough justice: A voice from Haslar
We received this blog entry from Henry who is in Haslar Immigration Removal Centre. My name is Henry, aged 53, and though of Nigerian and Sierra Leonean mixed parentage, I have spent the last 31 years of my life in the United Kingdom. I have a British wife, and two [...]
“As the weeks pass their demeanour changes”
Refugee Action are members of the Detention Forum and used to provide advice about assisted return to people in detention, before the Home Office withdrew the contract. These are some of the experiences of one of their caseworkers. [At Dover IRC], we run an advice surgery at the removal centre. Today [...]
Detained at the UK border: Mould, cat calls and barbed wire
Ali McGinley of AVID - a member of the Detention Forum - writes for the #Unlocked series in Open Democracy on detention in short-term holding facilities. Key statutory instruments governing the use of detention do not apply to holding rooms at ports or short term holding facilities. Some 7,000 vulnerable [...]
Kuka on the Parliamentary Inquiry
Image courtesy of Freed Voices This post was written by Ivo Kuka, who has experienced immigration detention. His testimony was provided for Detention Action's forthcoming annual report. In 2008, the Independent Asylum Commission did an assessment of the UK’s asylum system. They decided it was time for a ‘root and branch [...]
The art of listening?
By Eiri Ohtani from the Detention Forum. Yesterday morning, I joined colleagues from Right to Remain, Detention Action and JRS UK who nervously gathered at JRS UK’s headquarters in east London. We had a reason to be nervous. Last month, the Co-ordination Group of the Detention Forum produced guides for [...]
New BID report on the hidden use of prisons for immigration detention
This week, Bail Immigration for Detainees (BID) published a new report 'Denial of Justice: the hidden use of UK prisons for immigration detention'. As of 31 December 2013, 2,796 people were held in immigration detention in immigration removal centres, in short-term holding facilities, and in pre-departure accommodation, but a further [...]