Which all leads us to the following devastating question: how did this life, so full of historical resonance, affection and adventure, end up extinguished, in handcuffs, in a British asylum […]
We suggest that if the sureties were aware of x’s illegal status in the UK, they have been complicit in assisting him in defying UK immigration law, and are therefore […]
A new official report on Monitoring Places of Detention by an independent governmental monitoring body raises serious concerns about the immigration enforcement process. The private security contractors responsible are criticised for […]
A Parliamentary written answer yesterday revealed that of the Syrians that managed to get to the UK to claim asylum in 2013, 24 were forcibly removed and a further 20 […]
A new report from Women For Refugee Women (‘WFRW’) sheds a sickening light on the conditions for women asylum seekers detained in Yarl’s Wood IRC. 70 per cent of the […]
In the week before Christmas, at a time when national procrastination levels are at an annual high, the Home Office has had another warning about the need to get on […]
So, the other day I was doing a Bail for Immigration Detainees case out at Hatton Cross. These are seldom cheery affairs as it involves all of the misery of […]
One of the more pernicious aspects of the so-called automatic deportation provisions in the UK Borders Act 2007 is the provision in s.36 for detention while the Secretary of State […]
The Bail Observation Project has published its second report on immigration bail hearings in the First-tier Tribunal. The critical tenor of the report is revealed by its title: Still a […]
The harsh reality of immigration law enforcement is dramatically exposed by the facts of the case of R (on the application of Shaw & Anor) v Secretary of State for […]
The latest issue of Forced Migration Review, Issue 44 on Detention, alternatives to detention and deportation, has been made available for free. It is a huge issue with a range […]
Are you fenced in? Is there a security wall that stops you getting from A to B? The Guardian is launching a major project to report on the growing number of walls […]
The horrific news of sexual abuse by private security contractors at Yarlswood, the female-only immigration detention centre near Bedford, is awful and shocking. It is very far from the first […]
If we were to do what my hon. Friend suggested and have a blanket policy of not detaining [pregnant] women, first, having read many cases, I fear we would find […]
“There are now more than 45 million refugees and internally displaced people – the highest level in nearly 20 years. Figures give only a glimpse of this enormous human tragedy. Every day, […]
Many thanks to Eric Fripp of Lamb Building for the following note: On 8th May 2013 in the First Tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) at York House, a panel […]
Immigration detention dehumanises not only the detainee but also every person who deals with it. It is a poison that infects us all. The professionals who deal with detainees and […]
It looked for a while like banning this blog was all the rage. First there was some discussion on Twitter on which websites are banned within immigration detention centres, then […]
The Court of Appeal recently gave judgment in the case of R (on the application of Muqtaar) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2012] EWCA Civ 1270, a […]
There are we understand two charter flights bound to Sri Lanka on the 19 and 20 September 2012. If detainees do not have solicitors then contact Janani Jananayagam from TAG […]
There has been a flood of judgments in the last few weeks on the issue of unlawful detention. With immigration detention used more frequently and for longer periods than ever […]
The Court of Appeal has reviewed the meaning of ‘independent evidence of torture’ and the correct approach to the analysis of medical reports in R (on the application of AM) v […]
Just a quick one to flag up a guest post I’ve written for the 1 Crown Office Row UK Human Rights Blog. It covers Abu Qatada, indefinite detention and the […]
In the case of R (on the application of Sino) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2011] EWHC 2249 (Admin) (25 August 2011) John Howell QC, sitting as […]
The news coverage over the weekend reporting on the very recent deaths of three men in detention centres is yet another reminder that the system is, in my view, truly […]
I have started to think about the Herculean (perhaps Sisyphean a better analogy? – ed.) task of updating the HJT Immigration Manual, something I do at least once per year. This […]
Amnesty International has launched a campaign to change the way that the UK Border Agency conducts forced removals. The practices used by the private security contractors who do the dirty […]
HM Inspectorate of Prisons yesterday published two reports based on unannounced inspections of the short term immigration holding facilities at Heathrow Terminals 3 and 4 (Terminal 3 report here and […]
The Supreme Court yesterday handed down judgment in the case of Shepherd Masimba Kambadzi v SSHD [2011] UKSC 23, in the Court of Appeal known as SK (Zimbabwe) v SSHD [2008] EWCA Civ 1204. […]
In the case of Lumba v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2011] UKSC 12 the Supreme Court has held that it was unlawful to detain foreign prisoners under […]
Hundreds of foreign national prisoners are being held indefinitely, sometimes for years, when they can’t be removed from the country. With no time limit on immigration detention powers, judges and […]
The routine detention of immigrant children by the last Government was a disgrace. Claimed changes to detention policy by the current incumbents and the recent case of R (on the […]
Bail for Immigration Detainees recently obtained statistics from the Ministry of Justice on the number of bail applications that are made at different hearing centres, and the outcomes of those […]
There was some sort of riot at Campsfield Detention Centre last week, as anyone following the news more carefully than I will know. I’ve been attending a training course all […]
