JRS director protests at overuse of immigration detention in UK

Louise Zanre

The director of the Jesuit Refugee Service, Louise Zanre, has claimed there is an over use of immigration detention in the UK.

Mrs Zanre said the use of detention was often unnecessary with huge financial and human costs.

“It is an iniquitous system, the cost of which ruins many people’s lives,” she said.

There is capacity in the 13 detention centres around the country to hold 3,397 detainees. Another 635 are held in prisons.

The latest Home Office figures for the third quarter to September 2011, show 53 of those being held for two years or more, with 127 in detention for up to two years. 30 children entered detention in this quarter, though the government is committed to phasing out the detention of children after protests from church and other
campaigning groups.

People are detained on the say so of an immigration officer. There is no time limit on lengths of detention. The cost of detaining an individual is £110 per day.

“One of the biggest problems I’ve found from talking to detainees is the uncertainty, never knowing how long they will be held,” said Mrs Zanre, who contrasted the immigration detainee with the convicted criminal being held in prison. “It is different for the prisoner who knows the length of his or her sentence. For the detainee, it is just another day.”

Mrs Zanre believes the cost of the system in human terms is huge. “Detention makes people vulnerable and has a huge mental health and physical impact,” said Mrs Zanre, who would like to see a fairer system of immigration adopted.

She insists that as a minimum there need to be judicial safeguards brought into the detention process. “There need to be reviews by the courts of detention over set periods,” said Mrs Zanre.