Unlocking Detention shone a spotlight on the hidden world of immigration detention. This ‘virtual tour’ of the immigration detention estate used Twitter, Facebook and a website to ‘unlock’ the gates of immigration detention centres.
Each week, Unlocking Detention ‘visited’ one of the UK’s detention centres. We heard from people who had been detained there, volunteer visitors, NGOs, campaigners and the families, friends, neighbours and communities over whom detention cast its long shadows.
We started Unlocking Detention back in 2014 and it ran for 6 years. While we no longer run this campaign with its dedicated website, it has left a powerful legacy of the impact of immigration detention. We have archived the key information, and we are now proud to continue to make it accessible via our website.
#Unlocked15 at Cedars
This week, Unlocking Detention virtually visited Cedars 'pre-departure accommodation' (i.e. a detention centre) for families and children. Cedars opened in August 2011 after the Coalition Government's promise to end detention [...]
Keys to freedom: Bristol Immigration Detention Campaign
This blog post was written by Rissa Mohabir, coordinator of the Bristol Immigration Detention Campaign. BIDC are members of the Detention Forum. With the impending parliamentary debate on detention on September [...]
Unlocking Detention visits Campsfield House
Now over half-way through Unlocking Detention 2015, last week we virtually visited Campsfield House detention centre in Kidlington, near Oxford. https://twitter.com/GioFassetta/status/661618241710764033 Campsfield was originally a young offenders' institute but opened [...]
We should see detainees as our equals in the eyes of God
This post was written by Caroline Grogan, Communications and Media Officer for Caritas Social Action Network (CSAN). CSAN are members of the Detention Forum. The issue of immigration detention is [...]
The impact of detention on LGBT communities
This article was written for Unlocking Detention by Nina Held and Karen Smith, volunteers at Lesbian Immigration Support Group in Manchester. This article was originally published by Justice Gap, our [...]
Exceptional circumstances? Detention at Campsfield House
This piece was written by Melanie Griffiths, a trustee at Asylum Welcome. Asylum Welcome are a long-standing Oxford charity supporting men detained at Campsfield House. She is also a researcher [...]
Three Scenes from Campsfield IRC
This piece was written for Unlocking Detention by William, from the Freed Voices group. William was detained in Campsfield Immigration Removal Centre for four days before he was transferred to [...]
Stop Campsfield Expansion: a victory worth celebrating
This blog post was written by Bill MacKeith for Unlocking Detention. Bill is a founding member of the Campaign to Close Campsfield. This month marks the 22nd anniversary of the [...]
A visitor’s view of Campsfield
Campsfield House is widely considered one of the 'better-run' IRCs and the last report by HMIP, the official inspection body, vouched for this. Most people detained there, who have experienced [...]
Unlocking Detention: A week at Harmondsworth
This week, Unlocking Detention visited Harmondsworth detention centre near Heathrow airport. Harmondsworth is not only the biggest detention centre (immigration removal centre) in the UK, but also in Europe. Catch [...]
‘The person who emerges from detention is never the same as the person who went in’
This piece was written by Maddy Crowther of Waging Peace, for Unlocking Detention. The article was first published on the Justice Gap, who are partnering with us on #Unlocked15 Detention [...]
Visiting The Verne detention centre
We asked members of the Verne Visitors group to share their thoughts and experiences on visiting people at the Verne. We were interested to hear what led them to start [...]