Month: July 2015

Religious Leaders on Immigration Detention: A Force to be Reckoned With

Today (29 July 2015) was the day that the Court of Appeal smashed the government’s hopes to bring the Detained Fast Track back to life anytime soon. In a beautifully worded judgment, the Master of the Rolls Lord Justice Dyson observed that “the consequences for an asylum seeker if mistakes are made in the process are potentially disastrous”.

Once again, the DFT was put on trial, and once again, it was found guilty. But today is also the day that our campaign went on. In fact, victories like todays give us an additional reason to keep up the fight. This evening, a small little room in the Diocese of Southwark was packed with members of the London Churches Refugee Network and other faith communities discussing the Detention Inquiry.

Eiri Ohtani (Detention Forum), Jerome Phelps (Detention Action) and Souleyman (Freed Voices) shone light on detention from different angles. They talked about the importance of keeping the Detention Inquiry alive, and stressed that they cannot do this alone.  After all, campaigners are the type of people many politicians prefer to avoid.

@Rabbi_Lea shares the reason why @tzelem_uk rabbis couldn't walk away from the issue of detention #Time4aTimeLimit pic.twitter.com/6C8AhOh36O

— René Cassin (@Rene_Cassin) July 29, 2015

The clergy in the room felt that this was where they could lend a helping hand. Rabbi Muhlstein stressed: “Our local MP is a member of our congregation. It is much harder for politicians to brush us away.” A little later, Rabbi Mason reiterated that religious leaders and communities “are a conduit between campaigners and decision makers”. Bishop Clark from agreed, but he also reminded everyone in the room that change starts in the constituency. If constituents are clear that something needs to be done, faith leaders stand on a much firmer foot when talking to decision makers.

@rabbidavidmason talking about the Jewish reasons for caring about detention #Time4aTimeLimit @tzelem_uk pic.twitter.com/3YTy2Z7D8T

— René Cassin (@Rene_Cassin) July 29, 2015

We also heard a moving account of how a group of Rabbis become involved in #Time4aTimeLimit campaign.  That once they learnt about UK’s practice of indefinite detention and how this was causing tremendous amount of trauma both on individuals and communities, they could not walk away from it.  This led to their mass visit to Harmondsworth Immigration Detention Centres, followed by an interfaith tent on Harmondsworth Moor.

Eiri urged all attendees to encourage their MPs to go to the parliamentary debate on the Detention Inquiry scheduled for September 10^th. In particular if MPs are new, this is a great opportunity to brief them about the key recommendations made by the report. Many attendees seemed keen to do so, and promised to reach out to their networks. We are very grateful for their support.

The Detention Forum team

The Detention Forum would like to thank London Churches Refugee Network, Rene Cassin, Detention Action and JRS UK for making this meeting possible.

Saint Albans Church Community: 28 days and no more, Theresa May!

21 July 2015

Refugee week was action-packed with events on immigration detention. Between Dover and Crawley, travellers reflected on the dangerous journeys that many migrants make while fleeing war and persecution. In the North-East of the country, people  discussed how to improve our fight for detention reform. In Scotland, visitors of the Refugee Festival discussed the best way to challenge immigration detention in the post-election landscape. The week ended loud and clear as the Migrants Rights Bloc let their voice be heard at the national anti-austerity demo in London.

Reinvigorated by the buzz of activity on immigration detention, we pushed on. Until we discovered that we had missed one of Refugee Week’s inspiring events. In the peace and quiet of Saint Albans, a church community used Refugee Week to add further weight to the Detention Inquiry’s call for a 28 day time limit on immigration detention.

The ecumenical church community in St Albans, strongly supported by the Diocese of St Albans, has long been involved in the fight for the rights of migrants. Over the years it organised various actions, exhibitions and provided case work support to lawyers defending women detained in Yarls Wood. Since the disestablishment of the Yarls Wood Asylum Case Work Support Group in 2011, the community had been less active, unsure of what to do next. It was the Detention Inquiry’s call for a time limit on detention that provided a clear avenue for the group to re-engage. The Detention Inquiry was helpful because “only facts will convince Theresa May,” explained Adelheid (76), the lead organiser of the action.

During Refugee Week, the Justice & Peace group of St Bartholomew’s Roman Catholic Church in Saint Albans and the Catholic Women’s League asked church goers to sign pre-written letters stressing that “the money saved if the detention system were reformed would go a long way to finance a better and more humane immigration process.” Some took their letters home to study them in further detail. By the next service, the group had collected 90 letters, one for every 3 people in their church. “We organised other actions before that were not always as well received. But this time people were positive,” said Adelheid.

The letters were sent to Theresa May and to the constituency’s Conservative MP, Anne Main last week. The church community in St Albans is now awaiting a response.

Did you also organise an action on immigration detention that we could cover here? We would love to hear about it. Email us at detentionforum@gmail.com

The Detention Forum Team

9 July 2015

The Vulnerable People Working Group of the Detention Forum is publishing its report Rethinking ‘Vulnerability’ in Detention: a Crisis of Harm today.

The executive summary is here.   The full report is here.   Our press release is below.

Government’s approach to ‘vulnerability’ in detention needs urgent overhaul to prevent further harm

The Home Office’s policy and procedures to safeguard vulnerable people from immigration detention are inadequate, outdated and leave many people at risk of serious harm, according to new research published by the Detention Forum today.

The research analysed cases of 31 immigration detainees in contact with visitors groups and detention NGOs who were detained despite by definition constituting a ‘vulnerable group’. This included an overwhelming majority (77%, 24 people) who had experienced mental ill health in detention, 9 people (30%) who had experienced torture, four people with serious disabilities, a woman who had been trafficked to the UK and a boy detained aged just 15.

The research highlights a series of substantive failings in the system which led to the continued detention of these individuals despite policy guidance which is supposed to prevent the detention of vulnerable people – people like Jacques:

Jacques was detained for the purposes of removal to Denmark where he had previously claimed asylum. He had a traumatic history as a child soldier and was severely impacted by Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Despite being visibly unwell, and despite anecdotal evidence of staff feeling unable to manage the situation, he was detained for over two months before being removed to Denmark.

During detention, Jacques suffered periodic blackouts and dizziness, which at least once led to injury. He was unable to communicate with staff or other detainees and exhibited erratic behaviour, at times running naked out of his room or speaking in what was understood by staff as gibberish. In response, Jacques was regularly placed in isolation, which appeared to exacerbate his confusion and paranoia.

The local visitors’ group made efforts to raise concerns with the detention centre staff, but got no response from the healthcare centre. Attempts to support Jacques were made by a fellow detainee who spoke the same language as well as a solicitor who was willing to represent him for a temporary admission application and for unlawful detention. Jacques’ paranoia made him unwilling to enter the room with the solicitor, and so it was impossible to represent him. Communication was so difficult that his fellow detainee was unable to do much to support him either.

This new report calls for a complete rethinking of ‘vulnerability’ in order to end the detention of people who are at risk of harm. It advocates for a new approach which moves away from static ‘category based’ definitions to a more dynamic approach recognising that vulnerability is the result of a variety of factors and changes over time. The report argues that vulnerable people should never be detained, pushing for the use of community based alternatives to detention. For those who are detained, a new assessment tool should be developed with experts and clinicians, to enable a more in depth screening prior to detention as well as monitoring changes over time while detained.

Ali McGinley, Director of AVID and Co-author of the report, said “we are deeply concerned about the ongoing detention of extremely vulnerable people despite various high profile cases of serious harm. Detention centres are inadequate to meet the basic needs of these individuals – people who, by the Home Office’s own guidance, shouldn’t be detained in the first place. It is time to overhaul the approach to vulnerability so that those who are vulnerable or potentially vulnerable can go through the immigration system without the use of detention”

Nic Eadie, Director of GDWG and Co-author of the report, said “The recently-released report of the Parliamentary Inquiry into the use of immigration detention in the UK highlighted the many failings in identifying victims of trafficking and torture in detention, as well as the inadequacy of the safeguarding mechanism the Home Office rely on to identify and review the detention of all vulnerable detainees. Our report echoes this and provides more detailed information on the widespread failure of the Home Office in their duty of care to those they detain. A 28 day time-limit, as recommended by the Inquiry would be a good start, but as our report states, a root and branch reform is required to ensure those most at risk of harm are never detained.”

For further information please contact:

Ali McGinley, Director, AVID on 07900 196 131/ali.mcginley@aviddetention.org.uk or

Nic Eadie, Director, GDWG on 01293 657 070 /nic@gdwg.org.uk

Notes:

1. The Detention Forum is a network of NGOs working together to challenge immigration detention. Their Vulnerable People Working Group which produced this report is co-convened by AVID (Association of Visitors to Immigration Detainees) and GDWG (Gatwick Detainees Welfare Group).
2. The executive summary of the report is available here and the full report here.
3. On no less than six occasions in three years, the UK government has breached the rights of mentally ill detainees under Article 3 of the European Convention of Human Rights.
4. In March 2015, the Home Secretary commissioned a review of the welfare of vulnerable detainees, to be conducted by Stephen Shaw, former Prisons and Probation Ombudsman. The terms of this review explicitly exclude the consideration of the decision to detain. As such, this review is likely to have limited impact on the most vulnerable, as it is based on the premise that initial screening and decisions to detain are appropriate, and that their welfare needs can be met in detention. Yet according to the Home Office’s own statistics, around 40% of those detained are released back into the UK community, calling into question the rationale for their detention in the first place.
5. The recent Parliamentary Inquiry into the use of immigration detention in the UK conducted by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Refugees and All Parliamentary Group on Migration concluded that detention is used ‘disproportionately frequently, resulting in too many instances of detention’. Their report recommends a substantive overhaul of the immigration detention system including the introduction of a time limit and the consideration of community alternatives.

Social media volunteers needed!

8 July 2015

We are looking for several volunteers who can help us

• make sure our Twitter account is always active
• publish regularly small pieces of detention-related news that we can share with others
• collate immigration detention related news
• attend detention-related events and file reports about such events

We are also going to start our #unlocked tour 2015, starting from September – and we need enthusiastic and committed volunteers who will make it into a success. You can find more about last year’s #unlocked at www.unlocked.org.uk

You need to have;

• Solid experience of working or volunteering in a NGO or in a team
• General understanding of immigration detention in the UK (you don’t need to be an expert!)
• Experience of Internet-based research to find information
• Solid experience of using Twitter
• Demonstrable ability to communicate clearly in English
• Ability to work on your own initiative and complete tasks on time
• Access to a computer and Internet connection
• Any design / art / creative skills are a big plus – let us know what skills you have.

The Detention Forum currently has one part-time freelance worker who works one to two days a week and four part-time volunteers. They all work from home and communicate each other via Skype and emails. You can see why you need to be a self-starter and reliable if you want to join our team!

Due to our limited resources (and time), the only tools of communication we have with the outside world are emails, our website and Twitter – so for us, social media work is very important.

We would like the volunteers to be available at least one day a week (which can be split into two half days) for at least four months. Those who want to be part of #unlocked need to be available for five months, until the end of December.

If you are interested, please send the following to detentionforum@gmail.com by 24^th July 2015.

• your CV
• a covering letter addressing the above points
• details of your Twitter account
• a short written piece, up to 300 words, on immigration detention (you can write about any topic and theme relating to immigration detention)

We will contact those who are shortlisted.

We have to admit everyone here at the Detention Forum works very hard – it is a lot of work.  However, you will get to learn more about immigration detention and you also have a chance to learn how groups like the Detention Forum, its members and other groups around the UK are trying to challenge, reduce and end immigration detention.

We look forward to hearing from you.

The Detention Forum team

“No ifs, no buts”, Theresa May! Detention Reform in Sight? Debate on the Queens Speech 2015

7 July 2015

(Belatedly…) Here’s a short piece summarising some of the key comments on immigration detention made during the Queens Speech.

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On 27^th May Members of Parliament crammed into the House of Lords to listen to the Queens Speech – including the greatest number of BAME MPs and Women MPs ever. The days since the Queens Speech have seen the large number of new MPs (around 180) give their “maiden speeches”. Many passionate contributions – with differing perspectives on immigration, migration generally, Britain’s role in the world, on human rights abroad and in the UK. They will all provide context for the big push in this Parliament to radically reform immigration detention.

Theresa May perhaps gave the most encouraging signs yet that the Government may be yielding on the current use of immigration detention. Responding to Richard Fuller, a Conservative member of the APPG Inquiry, raising the issue on the second day of debate on the Queens Speech (On Home Affairs and Justice), Theresa May said:

“The Home Office is looking at what estate is required and at the whole question of periods of detention. I and, I suspect, my hon. Friend would prefer to see people detained for a very short period—in fact, many people are detained for only a matter of days, and the majority of detentions are for less than two months. It is important that we have a system for identifying and quickly deporting people who should not be here. That is why we took some measures in the Immigration Act 2014, and I will come on to the further measures that we intend to take to enable that to happen.”

The fact that the APPG Inquiry saw Conservative, Labour and LibDem members all conclude that immigration detention is Costly, Ineffective and Unjust gives huge impetus to the cause. With the Home Office having to make massive cost savings over the next 5 years, community-based alternatives to detention must look more and more attractive with immigration detention used genuinely as a last resort.

Richard Fuller MP spoke eloquently of MPs back at Westminster bringing a renewed sense of energy from their engagement with the electorate over the past few weeks – people united on wanting to ensure a better future for their children and grandchildren.

He continued:

“This idea of a better future arises not only in the sense of a better economic future for our constituents, but in the sense that we have a Government that will stand up for and defend the freedoms of our country, and reflect the best aspects and values of our great nation”

“The Yarl’s Wood detention centre is next to my constituency, and it is part of a detention estate in this country that has grown under Governments of all colours and all stripes…At the moment, immigration detention is ineffective and costly, and for too frequently it leads to instances of injustice that are a stain on our country’s values. So I look to her [The Home Secretary] and her ministerial team to engage positively with people from all parts of the House to reform immigration detention.”

In the same debate Labour MP for Hammersmith, Andy Slaughter, robustly defended the Human Rights Act, lamented the passing of LASPO 2012 and praised Margaret Hodge’s , “extremely mature view of what was wrong with the Government’s immigration policy”. Nevertheless he was happy to praise Richard Fuller MP:

“I disagree with the hon. Member for Bedford (Richard Fuller) on many issues, but he made the point, as he has done many times, about the dangers of extended detention for immigration and has earned our respect for championing that cause.”

In the Lords, it was Liberal Democrat Baroness Hamwee, on the 4th Day of Debate of the Queens Speech, who drew attention to reforming immigration detention. In her speech she ripped into the Government’s approach to immigration, confiding to her audience she had found herself shouting at her radio “a lot” during the election campaign in April. She castigated the use of phrases such as ‘spurious human rights’ and ‘bogus asylum seekers’ – and the validation it gives to xenophobia.

But she is happy to find common cause with Conservatives proponents of radical immigration detention reform. As she memorably says:

“Humane treatment is intrinsically right and important.”

SNP MPs too, have lost no time in pushing for reform, tabling an Early Day Motion calling for the closure of Dungavel IRC in the following terms:

“That this House commends the protestors who gathered at Dungavel Immigration Removal Centre on 30 May 2015 to call for the closure of the centre; and agrees that the Government must pursue alternatives to detention with a view to achieving the closure of Dungavel House and other immigration removal centres.”

(Early Day Motion 72, http://www.parliament.uk/edm/2015-16/72)

Now, is surely a golden opportunity to engage with new and existing MPs of all political parties, while their minds are perhaps most open to reform, to petition them to implement the recommendations of the APPG Inquiry into immigration detention.

The Detention Forum team