On a cold snowy night in Newcastle last week, there was a great turnout for our These Walls Must Fall training session. There were students, activists and experts-by-experience on detention in the room – and some were all three. After equipping people with some basic facts about detention – what it is, who it affects and why its wrong – the session turned to local action against detention. There were great suggestions made on thinking… Read more »
Yesterday, Manchester City Council become the first local authority in Britain to pass a motion condemning immigration detention. You can read the motion here. The motion, proposed by Councillor Mahadi Sharif, was passed unanimously by the council. Here’s how it happened: Councillor @kelly4labour seconding the #TheseWallsMustFall motion at #Manchester council. We must send a message to the government: "enough is enough!" #unlocked17— Right to Remain (@Right_to_Remain) November 29, 2017 Final #mcc business is @MahdiTaarwale, who came… Read more »
Manchester City Council has become the first local authority in Britain to pass a motion condemning immigration detention.
Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons, who conduct independent inspections of both prisons and immigration detention centres, have today released its report on its June 2017 unannounced inspection of Yarl’s Wood detention centre. You can read the report here. Yarl’s Wood is perhaps the most famous of the UK’s sites of detention (find out more about the others through the Unlocking Detention project), and holds around 300 people – mostly women, but also adult family groups and… Read more »
Last Thursday human rights campaigners, union members, migrant rights groups, political representatives and other members of the public met in Manchester to campaign against immigration detention. Setting up for the big event at the historic Mechanics Institute.Follow us, @wallsmustfall and #TheseWallsMustFall for updates! pic.twitter.com/EAcln0LgrG— Right to Remain (@Right_to_Remain) November 2, 2017 Gathering at Manchester’s historic Mechanics Institute, at a campaign launch meeting organised with Uniet the Union Greater Manchester Social Action Branch, over 120 people… Read more »
By Lisa Matthews, Coordinator at Right to Remain Immigration detention is a national policy, but we believe change will come from local communities calling for change at a local level. It is local communities that are being damaged and divided by detention, and it is from local communities that people are snatched and taken many miles away, locked up in detention centres indefinitely. Local people – constituents – have the power to influence their MPs… Read more »
Last week, the government quietly announced that they will be closing the Verne – one of the nine immigration ‘removal’ centres (IRCs) sprawled across the UK. Luke Butterly of Right to Remain writes here about the closure in the context of the ongoing campaign to end detention. At anyone time around 3,000 migrants are held in these centres, and around 30,000 people pass through each year. People can be detained for months and sometimes years,… Read more »
This is the response today from the Detention Forum to the news that The Verne Immigration Removal Centre is to close In a letter to key stakeholders, the Home Office has today announced the closure of The Verne Immigration Removal Centre. It is understood that the centre will be closed at the end of 2017 as ‘part of wider operational planning around the detention estate’ and will be re-purposed back into a prison. The Verne… Read more »
The High Court has ruled that the UK government has been unlawfully holding survivors of torture in immigration detention. The challenge was raised by Medical Justice with solicitors from Bhatt Murphy and Duncan Lewis, on behalf of seven people, and could open the way to hundreds more legal claims of unlawful detention. It all stems from a cynical change in policy last year. According to the rules, and for reasons that should be obvious, survivors… Read more »
Challenging immigration detention. These Walls Must Fall campaign meeting Thursday 2 November 7pm – 9pm Mechanics Centre 103 Princess Street Manchester M1 6DD Speakers include: Julie Ward, Member of European Parliament, NW England Unite the Union, NW389 Social Action Branch Freed Voices group: experts-by-experience Right to Remain Manchester Migrant Solidarity Women Asylum Seekers Together African Rainbow Family This event is free, but with limited places. Please register to ensure you can attend. Book your place!… Read more »
Detention is violent, harmful and immoral By Right to Remain Tonight, BBC Panorama broadcast undercover footage filmed in Brook House detention centre. The footage was extremely upsetting – showing staff verbally abusing people in detention in very vulnerable situations, and reporting their own physically abusive behaviour. The programme showed just how dehumanising detention is – of both those detained, and those that work there. “If he dies, he dies” said one guard about a man… Read more »
The Detention Forum has issued a statement in response to the news of G4S suspending its staff as part of abuse investigation. ‘We welcome the news that G4S has suspended nine staff members who are being investigated over allegations of abuse. We understand that this action was triggered by BBC Panorama’s undercover documentary which will be aired on Monday next week. Such allegations must be thoroughly investigated. Any form of abuse is unacceptable. However, scrutiny… Read more »