UK begins detaining people for removal to Rwanda

The UK Home Office has launched a major operation to detain people seeking asylum across the country. The detentions mark the launch of the Government’s controversial Rwanda scheme, which allows the deportation of people seeking asylum in the UK to the African state.

As part of the operation, some people attending routine meetings at immigration service offices or bail appointments are being detained. This move coincides strategically with local elections, raising concerns about the timing and motives behind the policy’s sudden implementation.

The decision to detain people who are abiding by all laws around their immigration case and living well in the community is deeply concerning. WHO research — supported by IDC — clearly demonstrates that <a href=”https://idcoalition.org/publications/addressing-health-challenges-in-immigration-detention-atd/”>detention has detrimental effects on the mental and physical wellbeing of those affected</a>.

Immigration detention itself is also extremely expensive, costing taxpayers huge amounts of money every year – some governments spend billions of dollars propping up this inhumane and ineffective system. Immigration detention is often outsourced to private companies and is a multi-million dollar industry — in the UK, for instance, centres are run for profit by corporations such as Serco.

IDC’s position is clear: there are kinder, safer, cheaper and better alternatives. Our research compiles over <a href=”https://idcoalition.org/publications/there-are-alternatives-a-handbook-for-preventing-immigration-detention/”>250 examples of alternatives to detention from 60 countries</a> around the world. In the UK, there have been several successful trials of community-based alternatives to detention. A UNHCR evaluation found that these pilots resulted in clear <a href=”https://www.unhcr.org/media/evaluation-refugee-and-migrant-advice-service-s-alternative-detention-pilot”>improvements to people’s mental health and cost 66% less than detention</a>.

We are unequivocal that the Home Office’s decision to detain people who have previously been living in the community and engaging fully with their immigration case is not only unnecessary and impractical, but also deeply inhumane and morally wrong.

As the first detentions begin to take place, the future of the UK’s asylum policy hangs in the balance. The global community — along with political leaders and advocacy groups around the world — will closely watch the unfolding events. The effectiveness, legality and morality of the detentions and the Rwanda removal plan will undoubtedly impact the discourse on asylum and human rights in the UK and beyond.