News – Page 14 – These Walls Must Fall

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“A place where one can be forgotten for a long time” – on the closure of The Verne

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 »

The closure of the Verne detention centre – Detention Forum response

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 »

Victory in the High Court: redefinition of torture in detention policy is unlawful

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 »

Manchester campaign public meeting, 2 Nov 2017

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 »

Right to Remain response to the BBC Panorama revelations

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 »

Brook House G4S staff abuse allegations

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 »

Legal challenge to detention of homeless Europeans

European nationals who become homeless in the UK are being rounded up for detention and deportation. The Public Interest Law Unit, along with NELMA, are bringing a judicial review against a Home Office policy seeking to remove EEA Nationals for rough sleeping. They need donations to pay for legal costs for this important case. The Home Office is deliberately targeting European nationals sleeping rough by detaining and deporting them. Financial support is needed to continue… Read more »

Rebalancing the scales after ‘deport first, appeal later’

Published at Detention Action Imagine moving to the UK as a young man. You find work and set up life here. You meet a British woman. You fall in love. You get married, start a family. The UK becomes your home. But things are not always straightforward. You fall in with the wrong crowd. You start selling drugs. You are caught, convicted and sent to prison. You count down the days before you will have… Read more »

ECHR finds vulnerable Zimbabwean national unlawfully detained by Home Office

By Rebeccca Carr, published by Free Movement. In a recent decision from Strasbourg, the European Court of Human Rights has found the UK Home Office unlawfully detained a Zimbabwean national. The Court found that the UK authorities had failed to act with sufficient “due diligence” in progressing the Applicant’s case, leading to him being detained for over two and a half years in an immigration removal centre. Background The applicant was born in Zimbabwe. He… Read more »

These Walls Must Fall: Sheffield

Right to Remain took These Walls Must Fall to Sheffield’s fabulous Migration Matters festival last week, as part of a two-part workshop, looking firstly at navigating the UK’s asylum system (based on the Right to Remain Toolkit) and then at an issue that affects all people seeking the right to remain in the UK: immigration detention. Preparing for our workshop on challenging immigration #detention today at Sheffield @MigMatFest #thesewallsmustfall #nooneisillegal pic.twitter.com/icXRPWVvsa— Right to Remain (@Right_to_Remain)… Read more »

A polite revolution

What makes people start caring about an issue? And what makes people go beyond just caring to doing something about it? These were some of the questions considered during a These Walls Must Fall workshop in Manchester this week, with campaigners from asylum-seeking and other migrant backgrounds. How many people would date their political awakening to being handed a flyer, or asked to sign a petition, or reading a policy report? In all honesty, very… Read more »

Liverpool

Plans are afoot in Liverpool to get the These Walls Must Fall campaign rolling. If you want to get involved, get in touch… email us