Citizens UK welcomes government decision not to reintroduce child detention in the UK's new Asylum Bill
Citizens UK welcomes government decision not to reintroduce Child Detention in the UK's new Asylum Bill
The Government has committed to not reintroduce the regular detention of children for immigration purposes in the upcoming Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill. We hope that this time, it’s for good.
Since the 2010 General Election, we’ve campaigned against the detention of children, knowing the lasting psychological and emotional damage it causes for the thousands of children being put into immigration detention centres. We brought together communities, faith groups, and civil society organisations across the country who believed that no child should ever face such conditions. We spoke up, and we won. The ending of child detention was written into UK law through the Immigration Act 2014.
Sadly, almost a decade later, powers to detain children without time limits were written into the Illegal Migration Act 2023, although not yet implemented. We resisted this inhumane policy once, and we were ready to do it again. Alongside communities across the UK, and organisations such as Together With Refugees, Coram Migrant Children’s Legal Centre, RAMP, Shpresa Programme, St Antony's Primary School in Forest Gate, and countless organisations from the across the country, we took action.
Building teams of people from local communities all the over the country, we met with MPs and Lords across the political spectrum, including Baroness Mobarik who led efforts in the House of Lords and former Home Office and Children's Ministers including Robert Buckland (then MP) who led efforts in the House of Commons. This culminated in a public action in Parliament Square in June 2023, with hundreds of community leaders meeting more MPs and Peers and urging their support. Labour backed our cross-party efforts in the Lords and it subsequently became Labour party policy.
That brings us to today–the power to detain children for immigration purposes is being repealed, preserving what we fought to win in the Immigration Act 2014.
This is a victory, but our work is not over. We are fighting not only to maintain the gains made in the past but to push forward for a future in which everyone who has made the UK their home can live with dignity and respect. Our immigration system continues to be unnecessarily hostile to people trying to build a life in the UK – with detention remaining for people seeking asylum whose ages are disputed by the Home Office and many people forced into limbo or poverty whilst on a pathway to citizenship. But we know it doesn’t have to be this way. Together, we can build a safer and more welcoming country for everyone.
As a former child detainee, I am so happy to hear the news of this being stopped. No child should ever have to go through what I and many others have had to go through. The way in which being detained takes a toll on you and follows you through life is not something anyone should ever experience. They try and make it seem as though it's a temporary hold but I've heard of people being there for years, just like a prison
Our children are our future and instead of traumatising them, we should be uplifting them, helping them integrate better into the society they call home.
Ijeoma, Citizens UK leader
Citizens UK has a range of projects and campaigns calling for an end to the hostile environment for refugees and migrants in the UK. There are so many ways you can join our movement - from helping a refugee family resettle in their new home to lobbying the Government for equal and affordable access to Citizenship.
Read more about our different campaigns and find out how you can get involved.