End immigration detention!

The new Tory-Liberal Democrat coalition government has announced plans for a cap on non-EU immigration.  Any hopes of the Lib-Dems’ promised ‘amnesty’ for migrants who have lived in the country for 10 years, can speak English and hold no criminal record have been dispelled as this proposal fell by the wayside in the coalition bargaining process.  The only seemingly positive note in the new government’s agenda is the promise to end child detention.  However, there is no guarantee that this will be enacted soon and even when it is, it signals the horrific prospect of ‘free’ children with detained parents being taken into care and traumatised by separation.

On 19 May, the new immigration minister Damien Green said ‘We are committed to ending the detention of all children for immigration purposes. I hope that we can have plans agreed within the next few months.’ (The Times). However, so far the change only applies to Scotland and children detained at Dungavel Immigration Removal Centre (IRC) are instead being transported to Yarl’s Wood IRC in Bedfordshire. For families such as Sehar Shebaz and her eight month old daughter Wanya, who had settled in Scotland, their position is made even worse by transfer to the notorious Yarl’s Wood IRC, hundreds of miles away from their community and supporters.

Campaigning organisations now fear that the government will continue to detain parents, in what used to be known as ‘hostage’ orders, whereby the detention of one family member is used to ensure that the others report as required and do not abscond, regardless of the impact of their detention on the other family members. Already, a number of single mothers are held without their children at Yarl’s Wood; the women’s desperate concerns for their separated children add to their distress at being detained and frequently result in mental health problems and self-harm. Where there are no family members who can take over the care for the children, detention of parents means their children are put into care.

The very fact that there are any moves at all to end child detention is a testimony to the struggles waged by families inside detention centres in recent years and reflects the massive amount of negative publicity the government has received over the issue.

In June 2009 a protest by families in Yarls Wood, demanding an end to the detention of children, was broken up by force (see FRFI 210).  In subsequent months a report by the Children’s Commissioner strongly criticised child detention and The Royal Colleges of Paediatrics and Child Health, GPs and Psychiatrists and the UK Faculty of Public Health issued a joint policy statement entitled significant harm – the effects of administrative detention on the health of children, young people and their families.

The very idea that the imprisonment and immigrant ‘amnesty’ can be played off against each other in some kind of bargaining war clearly illustrates that none of the ruling class parties in Britain have any concern for the rights or welfare of migrants.  Indeed, with Labour politicians lamenting that they were not even harsher during their time in government, it is clear that they are unanimous in their determination to further oppress and criminalise asylum seekers and immigrants.

Fight Racism Fight Imperialism calls for an end to immigration detention of children and adults. We support all campaigns against British immigration controls and campaign for equal rights for immigrants, migrant workers and asylum seekers. Unity is strength!