Immigration detention in the United Kingdom

Last updated

Immigration detention in the United Kingdom is the practice of detaining foreign nationals for the purpose of immigration control. [1] Unlike some other countries, UK provisions to detain are not outlined in a codified constitution. Instead, immigration enforcement holds individuals under Powers granted in the Immigration Act 1971 and by the Home Office Detention Centre Rules (2001). [2] [3] The expressed purpose of immigration detention is to "effect removal; initially to establish a person's identity or basis of claim; or [implement] where there is reason to believe that the person will fail to comply with any conditions attached to a grant of immigration bail." [4] Detention can only lawfully be exercised under these provisions where there is a "realistic prospect of removal within a reasonable period". [5]

Contents

In 2019, a majority of immigration detainees were individuals who were seeking, or had claimed, asylum (58%). [6] Other individuals liable for detention include those held while awaiting determination of their right to enter the UK, people who have been refused permission to enter and are awaiting removal, people who have overstayed the expiry of their visas or have not complied with their visa terms, and people lacking the required documentation to live in the UK. [7]

The British Home Office currently operates one Pre-Departure Accommodation, [8] three residential Short Term Holding Facilities (STHFs), seven Immigration Removal Centres (IRCs) [9] and 13 In-Use Short-Term Holding Facilities which can be used to detain individuals under Immigration Act Powers. [10] HM Prisons are also used as settings of detention under Immigration Powers, usually if the detainee was serving a prison sentence which expired. [11]

The management of a majority of IRCs is outsourced to private companies including Mitie, GEO Group, G4S and Serco. [12]

The Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 formally changed the name of "detention centres" to "removal centres".

Removal centres

The UK removal centres are:

Policies

The British government has been given powers to detain asylum seekers and migrants at any stage of the asylum process. [22] The use of asylum has increased with the introduction of the process of "fast track", or the procedure by which the Immigration Service assess asylum claims which are capable of being decided quickly. Fast-tracking takes place in Oakington Reception Centre, Harmondsworth and Yarl's Wood.

There are three situations in which it is lawful to detain an asylum seeker or migrant.

  1. To fast track their claim
  2. If the government has reasonable grounds to believe that the asylum seeker or migrant will abscond or not abide by the conditions of entry.
  3. If the asylum seeker or migrant is about to be deported.

Figures published for January – March 2008 by the Home Office [23] revealed the following:

Once detained it is possible to apply for bail. It is preferable but not necessary to provide a surety and conditions will be provided, usually reporting, if bail is granted. There is legal aid for representation at bail hearings and the organisation Bail for Immigration Detainees provides help and assistance for those subject to detention to represent themselves. [24]

Since summer 2005 there has been an increase in the detention of foreign nationals since the Charles Clarke scandal which revealed that there were a number of foreign nationals who had committed crimes and had not been deported at the end of their sentence. [25]

Criticism of immigration detention focuses on comparisons with prison conditions [26] in which persons are kept though they have never been convicted of a crime, the lack of judicial oversight, and on the lengthy bureaucratic delays that often prevent a person from being released, particularly when there is no evidence that the detainee will present a harm or a burden to society if allowed to remain at large while their situation is examined.

Recently, the conditions of detention centres have been criticised, by the United Kingdom Inspector of Prisons. [27]

The Tinsley Model

In 1996 Immigration Detention Centre Tinsley House was commissioned. It was the first purpose-built immigration detention facility in the United Kingdom and was initially managed by the British subsidiary of the American Wackenhut Corporation.

The original senior management of Tinsley House, specifically the centre director and its operations manager, pioneered an adapted version of Wackenhut's philosophy of "Dynamic Security" that promoted a regime of caring custody, emphasising positive relations between staff and detainees and encouraging the respectful and sensitive handling of all detainee related issues.

This concerned approach towards detainee management was quickly embraced by the centre's chaplain, who reinforced the existing commitment to caring custody through the creation of specialised training programmes for the centre's staff and by increasing the size and diversity of the centre's chaplaincy team.

With the active support of the centre's senior management, the Tinsley House chaplaincy set about the task of addressing in detail the dietary, cultural, religious and social needs of the centre's population inviting a variety of religious ministers and representatives of cultural groups to attend the centre to provide pastoral support. Tinsley House became the first detention centre in the United Kingdom to operate a comprehensive regime of religious and cultural observance and to operate a diversity of permanent religious facilities.

The attention to religious and cultural needs combined with an overt commitment on the part of the detention centre staff towards treating those in their custody with care and sensitivity began to impact the environment and operations at Tinsley House. Detainees would write messages of appreciation to members of staff noting their efforts of assistance and staff would regularly form respectful friendships with those in their charge.

The product of this regime, which became known as the "Tinsley Model" was to result in an environment which, during its first decade of operations, incurred no incidence of death, riot or disturbance; a performance which remains unmatched in the history of the UK Immigration Service.

The "Tinsley Model" attracted the attention of the Prince of Wales as well as numerous religious and political leaders and was cited as being a graphic example of the effectiveness of "caring custody". [28]

In December 2001 the senior chaplain of Tinsley House authored a report to the Home Secretary detailing the essence of the Tinsley Model, recording its positive effects and outlining how this regime might be exported throughout the Immigration estate. The report was signed by sixteen bishops, four leading Muslim clerics, representatives of the Sikh and Hindu communities, four members of the House of Lords and the Member of Parliament for Crawley.

The Home Office response to this proposal was to pass it to the Immigration Minister who forwarded it to the head of the Immigration Service who in turn requested that it be actioned by the director responsible for Detention Operations. The Detention Operations department of the Immigration Service did not accept the findings of the report and expressed their displeasure at the centre's operating company (now Group 4) "interfering" in government policy issues and which resulted in the suspension of the centre's senior chaplain.

A month after this report was published; the newest facility in the Immigration estate, the £40 million Yarl's Wood detention centre near Bedford was largely destroyed by fire as a result of altercations between staff and detainees.

With a lack of support from the Immigration Service, the introduction of Group 4's management style (with its largely prison based philosophies) and the departure of the centre's original management team, the "Tinsley Model" became increasingly difficult to maintain resulting in a decline in the centre's previously caring regime.

In 2009 an unannounced inspection of Tinsley House by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons reported that "conditions had generally deteriorated and the arrangements for children and single women were now wholly unacceptable" and that "staff talked openly about an increased prison culture encroaching on Tinsley House's previously relaxed atmosphere". [29] The gradual erosion of the centre's initial regime of "Caring Custody" effectively marked the end of the "Tinsley Model" and with it the dynamic of the chaplaincy's intensive pastoral care which had been a fundamental feature of the model.

Deaths in immigration custody

The Government does not routinely publish the number of detainees who die in custody, [30] but data mapping by INQUEST suggests that a further three individuals died while being held under Immgiration Act Powers during 2016, nine in 2017, three in 2018 and one in 2019. [31] In 2018, the Government announced that it would begin publishing data on deaths in IRCs for the first time. [32] However, the definitive annual number of deaths in detention remain unknown, as quarterly Home Office statistics do not differentiate between deaths and detainees leaving detention for "other" reasons. [6]

In total, there have been at least 40 deaths in immigration custody since 1989, including:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Villawood Immigration Detention Centre</span>

Villawood Immigration Detention Centre, originally Villawood Migrant Hostel or Villawood Migrant Centre, split into a separate section named Westbridge Migrant Hostel from 1968 to 1984, is an Australian immigration detention facility located in the suburb of Villawood in Sydney, Australia.

Immigration detention is the policy of holding individuals suspected of visa violations, illegal entry or unauthorized arrival, as well as those subject to deportation and removal 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 refers to the practice of compulsorily detaining or imprisoning people seeking political asylum, or who are considered to be illegal immigrants or unauthorized arrivals into a country. Some countries have set a maximum period of detention, while others permit indefinite detention.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HM Prison The Verne</span> Mens prison in Dorset, England

HM Prison The Verne is a Category C men's prison located within the historic Verne Citadel on the Isle of Portland in Dorset, England. Operated by His Majesty's Prison Service, HMP The Verne was established in 1949 and occupies the southern part of the citadel. After a brief spell as an Immigration Removal Centre in 2014–2017, HMP The Verne re-opened in 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Police raid</span> Tactic used by police

A police raid is an unexpected visit by police or other law enforcement officers with the aim of using the element of surprise to seize evidence or arrest suspects believed to be likely to hide evidence, resist arrest, endanger the public or officers if approached through other means, or simply be elsewhere at another time. Various tactics are used by law enforcement in raids that often vary based on available equipment, situational factors, laws, and police powers.

Independent monitoring boards (IMB) are statutory bodies established by the Prison Act 1952 to monitor the welfare of prisoners in the UK to ensure that they are properly cared for within Prison and Immigration Centre rules, whilst in custody and detention. Their responsibilities were extended to Immigration Removal Centres by the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 following an inspection in 1989 of what was then Harmondsworth Detention Centre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dungavel</span>

Dungavel Immigration Removal Centre is an immigration detention facility in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, near the town of Strathaven that is also known as Dungavel Castle or Dungavel House. It is operated by Mitie Care and Custody, under contract with the law-enforcement command Immigration Enforcement for its detention of immigrants for the Home Office. It is the only such facility in Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yarl's Wood Immigration Removal Centre</span> Detention centre for foreign nationals prior to their deportation from the United Kingdom

Yarl's Wood Immigration Removal Centre is a detention centre for foreign nationals prior to their deportation from the United Kingdom, one of 10 such centres currently in the UK. It is located near Milton Ernest in Bedfordshire, England, and is operated by Serco, which describes the place as "a fully contained residential centre housing adult women and adult family groups awaiting immigration clearance." Its population is, and has been, overwhelmingly female.

Colnbrook Immigration Removal Centre is located in Harmondsworth, London Borough of Hillingdon. Colnbrook, adjacent to Harmondsworth Immigration Removal Centre and London Heathrow Airport, houses only males. Colnbrook, which opened in August 2004, is built to Class B prison standards, making it one of the highest security immigration removal centres in the United Kingdom alongside Brook House. Colnbrook has 308 bed spaces.

Dover Immigration Removal Centre was an immigration detention centre, located in the historic citadel of the Western Heights fortifications in Dover, England. The centre was operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service, and formally closed in November 2015. Dover has been designated as an historic site by English Heritage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haslar Immigration Removal Centre</span>

Haslar Immigration Removal Centre was an immigration detention centre, located in Haslar, Hampshire, England. The centre was operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service. The centre closed in 2016 with the Ministry of Justice planning to retain the site for use as a prison – plans which were later scrapped. In September 2022, the Guardian reported that Haslar immigration removal centre would reopen in late 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HM Prison Morton Hall</span>

HM Prison Morton Hall is a Category C men's prison, located in the village of Morton Hall in Lincolnshire, England. The centre is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. It was previously a women's prison and from 2011 to 2021 it was an Immigration Removal Centre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Campsfield House</span> United Kingdom immigration detention centre

Campsfield House was an immigration detention centre located in Kidlington near Oxford, England, operated by private prison firm Group 4 under contract with the British government. It was the site of a number of protests from human rights campaigners and has seen a number of hunger strikes and one suicide. Protests at conditions in the prison have sparked a number of hunger strikes and disturbances. However, it was highly praised by the Chief Inspector of Prisons at the last full inspection. It closed in 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christmas Island Detention Centre</span> Australian immigration detention facility

Christmas Island Immigration Reception and Processing Centre or commonly just Christmas Island Immigration Detention Centre, is an Australian immigration detention facility located on Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean.

The Johannesburg Central Police Station is a South African Police Service police station in downtown Johannesburg, South Africa. From its unveiling in 1968 until September 1997, it was called John Vorster Square, after Prime Minister B.J. Vorster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Immigration detention in the United States</span>

The United States government holds tens of thousands of immigrants in detention under the control of Customs and Border Protection and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Immigrants are detained for unlawful entry to the United States, when their claims for asylum are received, and in the process of deportation and removal from the country. During Fiscal Year 2018, 396,448 people were booked into ICE custody: 242,778 of whom were detained by CBP and 153,670 by ICE's own enforcement operations. A daily average of 42,188 immigrants were held by ICE in that year. In addition, over twelve thousand immigrant children are housed by facilities under the supervision of the Office of Refugee Resettlement's program for Unaccompanied Alien Children. Prior to referral to these other agencies, the CBP holds immigrants at processing centers; between mid-May and mid-June 2019, it held between 14,000 and 18,000 immigrants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manus Regional Processing Centre</span> An offshore Australian immigration detention facility

The Manus Regional Processing Centre, or Manus Island Regional Processing Centre (MIRCP), was one of a number of offshore Australian immigration detention facilities. The centre was located on the PNG Navy Base Lombrum on Los Negros Island in Manus Province, Papua New Guinea.

Brook House Immigration Removal Centre is a privately managed detention centre, operated by Serco on behalf of Home Office. The facility is situated in the grounds of Gatwick Airport, Crawley, West Sussex.

Tinsley House is a United Kingdom Immigration Removal Centre (IRC), where individuals are held while awaiting decisions on their asylum claim or considered for deportation from the UK for various reasons. It is located on Perimeter Road South of Gatwick Airport in Gatwick, West Sussex, England. Tinsley House is managed by security firm Serco on behalf of Border Force. When Tinsley House was established in 1996, it was the UK's first purpose-built detention centre. Since then, the UK's detention estate has expanded substantially and there are now nine immigration removal centres. Some individuals are also detained in short-term holding facilities and prisons.

Mental health consequences of immigration detention include higher rates of depression, anxiety, PTSD, conduct issues, hyperactivity, compared to the general population. These harmful impacts exist regardless of past traumatic experiences, age, or nationality, or even time elapsed. Immigration detention may take place at country or state borders, in certain international jurisdiction zones, on offshore islands, boats, camps, or could even be in the form of house arrest. The use of immigration detention around the world has increased recently, leading to greater concerns about the health and wellbeing of detained migrants. A 2018 scoping review from BMC Psychiatry gathered information showing that immigration detention consistently results in negative impacts on detainees.

References

  1. "Immigration Detention in the UK". Migration Observatory. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  2. Majcher, Izabella; Flynn, Michael; Grange, Mariette (2020-03-04). Immigration Detention in the European Union: In the Shadow of the "Crisis". Springer Nature. ISBN   978-3-030-33869-5.
  3. "The Detention Centre Rules (2001)". UK Legislation.
  4. "Immigration detention - Home Affairs Committee - House of Commons". publications.parliament.uk. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  5. "Media factsheet: Detention time limits - Home Office in the media". homeofficemedia.blog.gov.uk. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  6. 1 2 "Home Office: Immigration statistics, year ending December 2019". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  7. Silverman, Stephanie J.; Hajela, Ruchi (6 February 2015). "Immigration Detention in the UK". Migration Observatory, University of Oxford. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  8. "Gatwick pre-departure accommodation information". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  9. "Place of detention - United Kingdom | Asylum Information Database". www.asylumineurope.org. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  10. "Report on a national inspection of the short-term holding facilities in the UK managed by Border Force" (PDF). Justice Inspectorate.
  11. "Detention in Prison | AVID". www.aviddetention.org.uk. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  12. "Serco wins contract to run immigration detention centres". Financial Times. 20 February 2020. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  13. "Brook House Immigration Removal Centre". UK Border Agency . Retrieved 2011-08-14.
  14. "Colnbrook immigration removal centre". UK Border Agency . Retrieved 2011-08-14.
  15. "Dungavel immigration removal centre". UK Border Agency . Retrieved 2011-08-14.
  16. "Harmondsworth immigration removal centre". UK Border Agency . Retrieved 2011-08-14.
  17. "Larne House". UK Border Agency . Retrieved 2011-08-14.
  18. "Morton Hall immigration removal centre". UK Border Agency . Retrieved 2011-08-14.
  19. "Pennine House". UK Border Agency . Retrieved 2011-08-14.
  20. "Tinsley House immigration removal centre". UK Border Agency . Retrieved 2011-08-14.
  21. "Yarl's Wood Immigration Removal Centre". UK Border Agency . Retrieved 2011-08-14.
  22. "Legislation.gov.uk". opsi.gov.uk.
  23. "Home Office Asylum Statistics, 1st Quarter 2008" (PDF). archive.org. Archived from the original on 27 June 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  24. "Bail for Immigration Detainees". biduk.org.
  25. "Ricin case 'shows asylum chaos'". BBC. 2005-04-14.
  26. politics.co.uk Archived 13 March 2005 at the Wayback Machine
  27. "inspectorates.homeoffice.gov.uk" (PDF). homeoffice.gov.uk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 September 2006.
  28. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 22 September 2015. Retrieved 2016-05-29.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  29. HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, "Report on an unannounced short followup inspection of Tinsley House Immigration Removal Centre", 13–15 July 2009.
  30. "Suicides in immigration detention centres kept a 'state secret' by Home Office, MPs told". The Independent. 2018-09-11. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  31. "Deaths of immigration detainees". Inquest. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  32. "Immigration detention. Home Affairs Committee: Fourteenth Report of Session 2017-2019" (PDF). Parliament UK.
  33. "30 Deaths Across the UK Detention Estate - Suicide/Murder/Undetermined". www.no-deportations.org.uk. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  34. "After 33,000 migrant deaths in 24 years, will 'Fortress Europe' keep building walls?". America Magazine. 2017-11-13. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  35. Travis, Alan; editor, home affairs (2003-04-07). "Lack of care cited in asylum suicide report". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2020-07-23.{{cite news}}: |last2= has generic name (help)
  36. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Harris, Kristine. "Death in Immigration Detention: 2000-2015" (PDF). Medical Justice.
  37. "Another death at Harmondsworth | Institute of Race Relations". TheGuardian.com . 11 March 2019. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  38. Athwal, Harmit (2005-07-28). "Inquest rules asylum seeker died from natural causes at Haslar". Institute of Race Relations. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  39. "Memorandum from Bail for Immigration Detainees Introduction". UK Parliament: Committee Publications. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  40. Frith, Maxine (2006-07-22). "Asylum-seeker's 'despair' drove him to suicide". The Independent. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  41. Bernstein, Nina (2011-08-20). "In Father's Memory, Fighting to Stay in Britain". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  42. "Shock as another detained asylum seeker takes his own life". Refugee Council. 2006-01-27. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  43. "Deportee burglar dies in prison". 2006-06-14. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  44. Allison, Eric (2008-07-07). "This prison is unsafe". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  45. Weber, L.; Pickering, S. (2011-11-22). Globalization and Borders: Death at the Global Frontier. Springer. ISBN   978-0-230-36163-8.
  46. "G4S guards found not guilty of manslaughter of Jimmy Mubenga". The Guardian. 2014-12-16. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  47. "Deportee screamed 'I can't breathe'". BBC News. 2014-11-11. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  48. "The death of Jimmy Mubenga". newhumanist.org.uk. 10 March 2015. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  49. "Detention centre failures contributed to death of asylum seeker, inquest finds". The Guardian. 2012-05-25. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  50. "Jury finds that neglect contributed to the death of Brian Dalrymple in immigration detention". Inquest. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  51. "Campsfield's troubled history". New Internationalist. 2014-01-27. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  52. Kirkland, Faye (2 March 2020). "Prince Fosu inquest: Man died 'in plain sight' at detention centre". BBC. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
  53. "Left to die in British detention: who was Alois Dvorzac?". Channel 4 News. 2014-03-18. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  54. Qureshi, Yakub (2013-08-07). "Probe call after asylum seeker dies at Manchester Airport detention centre". men. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  55. "Capita death: Ombudsman exposed problems that Coroner failed to address, family says". openDemocracy. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  56. "Investigation after prisoner death". BBC News. 2014-02-05. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  57. "Jury identified serious failures by G4s at the inquest into the death of Mohamoud Ahmed Ali | News | Garden Court Chambers | Leading Barristers located in London, UK". www.gardencourtchambers.co.uk. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  58. "Detainee's death marked with service". BBC News. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  59. "Exclusive: 'Stateless' asylum seeker found dead in his prison cell". The Independent. 2014-06-04. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  60. "Protests after immigration centre death". Channel 4 News. 2014-09-23. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  61. "The family of 26 year old Rubel Ahmed who died in Morton Hall IRC call for transparency and accuracy of information to families". Inquest. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  62. "Man who died at Lincoln immigration centre named". The Lincolnite. 2014-09-08. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  63. "Detainee death 'not suspicious'". BBC News. 2015-04-21. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  64. Newcomen, Nigel (2015). "Independent investigation into the death of Mr Pinakinbhai Patel, a detainee at Yarl's Wood Immigration Removal Centre on 20 April 2015" (PDF). Prisons & Probation Ombudsman.
  65. "Britain's Loneliest Migrant Centre Is an Isolated Hell for its Detainees". www.vice.com. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  66. "The Man in Room Six: the story of a young man who died in a UK immigration detention centre". www.newstatesman.com. March 2016. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  67. Taylor, Diane (2017-04-10). "Death at immigration detention centre comes under investigation". The Guardian. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  68. Taylor, Diane (18 February 2016). "Inquiry after death of detainee at Colnbrook immigration removal centre". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  69. "Jury concludes several missed opportunities contributed to self-inflicted death of Amir Siman-Tov in immigration detention". Inquest. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  70. Millar, Joey; Mansfield, Katie (Dec 2, 2016). "Man charged with murder of migrant at immigration centre in Hillingdon". Express. Express Newspapers.
  71. 1 2 Taylor, Diane (2016-12-07). "Investigation after death of second immigrant in UK detention in a week". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  72. "Jury highlight Morton Hall staff failures as inquest concludes on death of immigration detainee Carlington Spencer". Inquest. 2019-11-11. Retrieved 2020-07-23.