Cedars (immigration detention)

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Exterior of the Cedars Pre-Departure Accommodation Facility UKBA-cedars.png
Exterior of the Cedars Pre-Departure Accommodation Facility

Cedars was an immigration detention facility in Crawley, West Sussex, United Kingdom adjacent to Gatwick Airport. It was operated by UK Visas and Immigration with security and facilities maintenance contracted out to G4S and Barnardo's providing social workers and child welfare services.

Immigration detention government facility

Immigration detention is the policy of holding individuals suspected of visa violations, illegal entry or unauthorised arrival, and those subject to deportation and removal in detention until a decision is made by immigration authorities to grant a visa and release them into the community, or to repatriate them to their country of departure. Mandatory detention is the practice of compulsorily detaining or imprisoning people seeking political asylum, or who are considered to be illegal immigrants or unauthorised arrivals into a country. Some countries have set a maximum period of detention, while others permit indefinite detention.

Crawley Town & Borough in England

Crawley is a large town and borough in West Sussex, England. It is 28 miles (45 km) south of Charing Cross (London), 18 miles (29 km) north of Brighton and Hove, and 32 miles (51 km) north-east of the county town of Chichester. Crawley covers an area of 17.36 square miles (44.96 km2) and had a population of 106,597 at the time of the 2011 Census.

West Sussex County of England

West Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering East Sussex to the east, Hampshire to the west and Surrey to the north, and to the south the English Channel.

Contents

Opened in 2011, [1] Cedars was the first immigration detention center in the UK specifically designated for families with children. Unlike other facilities for single adults, which are essentially medium security prisons holding immigration violators pending deportation, Cedars consisted of apartments in a more open atmosphere. As a result, the UK Border Agency has referred to the facility as pre-departure accommodation rather than immigration detention.

Deportation expulsion of people from a place or country

Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. The term expulsion is often used as a synonym for deportation, though expulsion is more often used in the context of international law, while deportation is more used in national (municipal) law.

The closing of the costly, under-used facility was announced in August 2016. [2] It was closed permanently in December 2016. [3]

Facility

Cedars was built around 9 individual apartments [4] that can accommodate families of up to 6 persons. Each apartment had between 1 and 3 bedrooms, a living room, full kitchen and en-suite bathroom. Families were free to move about the interior of the facility at all times and the facility's grounds during daylight hours. They could also leave the facility with a staff escort for supervised activities.

Association football Team field sport

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played with a spherical ball between two teams of eleven players. It is played by 250 million players in over 200 countries and dependencies, making it the world's most popular sport. The game is played on a rectangular field called a pitch with a goal at each end. The object of the game is to score by moving the ball beyond the goal line into the opposing goal.

Multifaith space quiet location set aside in a busy public place for contemplation or prayer

A multifaith space or multifaith prayer room is a quiet location set aside in a busy public place where people of differing religious beliefs, or none at all, are able to spend time in contemplation or prayer. Many of these spaces are "small, clean and largely unadorned areas", which can be adapted and serve for any religious or spiritual practice. Rarely, persons of different faiths may come together in such spaces within the context of multifaith worship services.

Mosque Place of worship for followers of Islam

A mosque is a place of worship for Muslims.

Residents also had access to organized recreational activities, healthcare, counselling, therapy, and ministerial services if needed or desired.

Controversy

G4S British multinational security services company

G4S plc is a British multinational security services company headquartered in London, England.

See also

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References

  1. ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-37042910
  2. ↑ Travis, Alan (10 August 2016). "Prisons inspector praises immigration centre for families set for closure". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
  3. ↑ Travis, Alan (9 February 2017). "G4S to take over welfare support for families facing deportation". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
  4. ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-37042910
  5. ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-37042910
  6. ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-37042910
  7. ↑ "Unravelling the Lib Dem spin that they're ending child detention". Left Foot Forward.

Coordinates: 51°04′41″N0°12′06″W / 51.0780°N 0.2016°W / 51.0780; -0.2016

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