Comments on: Should the children of asylum seekers be held in detention centres while their applications are processed?

By: warrior

warrior — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 08:57:59 +0000

Yes... and they should be examined, too.
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By: NightRider

NightRider — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 08:13:59 +0000

If Fiona Murphy feels so strongly why doesn't she put them up in her house?
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By: cameronissim...

cameronissim... — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 08:08:59 +0000

It would be easier to place the family on an island around our shores. Than waste money on prisons and social work visits etc.
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By: stromboli the magician

stromboli the magician — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 08:03:59 +0000

YES
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By: The Bricklayer

The Bricklayer — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 07:30:59 +0000

Keep every applicant in a detention centre,no matter what age they are.

If the applicant is genuine,they will not care,as it is better than what awaits them if they return home.

This is assuming that no applicants are making false claims-which of course none would dream of doing,would they?
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By: SnoddersB

SnoddersB — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 06:43:59 +0000

The simplest way to resolve this is to deport the Illegal Immigrants immediately and to speed up the removal of those who 'claim' political asylum, whose countries are now safe.
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By: Scarlet Pimpernel

Scarlet Pimpernel — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 06:06:59 +0000

Yes, but there should be no need for detention centres, as Max says most are bogus so should be deported immediately.
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By: NeX_Demise

NeX_Demise — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 05:57:59 +0000

No, I don’t think they broke any laws to actually be detained. (Oh please dont preach about any immigration laws, all of them are worth shit anyhow in every damn nation there is.)

I’m just wondering how did britain with its fear of everything foreign manage to conquer so much land.
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By: erskine

erskine — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 05:36:59 +0000

Hi there
How come the family from Bolivia were claiming asylum in the UK? Surely we were not the first safe country they came to?
Surely we have got the daftest system that is wide open to abuse.
It costs thousands of pounds to keep families in these secure places and are never done as a first option because of the costs involved. I guess the family accessed Legal Aid to fund the legal action. I’ve paid into this fund through taxation I have paid. I resent someone receiving this when they have made no contribution.
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My opinion.

By: Maggie

Maggie — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 05:08:59 +0000

The case referred to was the result of a family being detained five years ago in 2004 in Oakington IRC. This centre has since been designated a male only centre and women, children and families are no longer detained there. It is an old facility and very prison like, being ex RAF barracks.
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/managingborders/immigrationremovalcentres/oakingtonremovalcentre

There are currently three centres in the UK suitable for families: Tinsley House, Dungavel and Yarl’s Wood. As you can see from the links, these are more open detention centres and have facilities that are suited to families.

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/managingborders/immigrationremovalcentres/dungavel
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/managingborders/immigrationremovalcentres/tinsleyhouse
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/managingborders/immigrationremovalcentres/yarlswood

Conditions have improved immensely in detention centres where families and children are held and since spaces are so few and far between, they are now only used for imminent removal cases. In total in the UK there are only about 3,000 detention places. Less than 320 of those are family spaces.

This is not the only case where the government has had to fork out large amounts of money for detaining children in these conditions, although to be fair, it is not just the detention that allows them to sue the government. In these cases there were alternatives available to detention or the parents had not exhausted the legal asylum process and so were not subject to removal, or there was mistreatment as in this case. They are not suing on the basis of detention alone.

Detention should only be used when status or identity has to be confirmed or there has been a breach of immigration rules or refusal of asylum and removal is imminent.

Here’s another case from last year about another family detained in 2006 who were awarded £150,000..
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/asylum-detainees-win-record-payout-1608207.html

An extract from Chris Cleave’s website:

In 2001 an Angolan man named Manuel Bravo fled to England and claimed asylum on the grounds that he and his family would be persecuted and killed if they were returned to Angola. He lived in a state of uncertainty for four years pending a decision on his application. Then, without warning, in September 2005 Manuel Bravo and his 13-year-old son were seized in a dawn raid and interned at an Immigration Removal Centre in southern England. They were told that they would be forcibly deported to Angola the next morning. That night, Manuel Bravo took his own life by hanging himself in a stairwell. His son was awoken in his cell and told the news. What had happened was that Manuel Bravo, aware of a rule under which unaccompanied minors cannot be deported from the UK, had taken his own life in order to save the life of his son. Among his last words to his child were: “Be brave. Work hard. Do well at school.”"

Chris was commenting on the real life story behind a scene in his book The Other Hand.

The subject of detention is about far more than removing illegal immigrants. It’s not a black and white issue, nor is it a one-sided issue.

I am not a left-wing, liberal do gooder, far from it. I don’t in any way condone illegal immigration BUT I do believe that our compassion and humanity in the way we treat these people, especially children who are the innocents in this, marks us as as a nation.
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