AVIDdetention

[Press Release] “One in, one out – but everyone loses”: AVID raises concern over the new governement policy Government plays numbers game as suicidality, and human-rights warnings pile up in UK detention system.

"Detention is being normalised. Removals are happening faster. Rights are harder to access. One in, one out – but everyone loses. It is a high-speed pipeline for expulsion"

Our concerns about the UK Government’s newly operational “one-in, one-out” policy
www.aviddetention.org.uk/article/pres...

Thank you to the Casework Solidarity Forum for providing a space to connect, learn from and support each other in an increasingly challenging environment. We were able to hear and speak about how to manage capacity, how we can mobilise as a sector against racism and how to care for each other.

His family are still waiting for answers.

📢 Let Alfred’s name echo beyond the walls of Brook House.

Let it be a call for dignity, accountability, and an end to a system that continues to harm.

Our sincere condolences to his family.

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🕯️ Remembering Alfred Dosku🕯️

Last week, we had sat through 5-days inquest into his death. The jury read out their verdict as 'Suicide'.

Just one week after arriving at Brook House Immigration Removal Centre, Alfred was found with a ligature around his neck(09th November 2023). (1/2)

This 👇

🚨 Squalid. Unsafe. Inhumane.
That’s how HMP Pentonville is described in a new Urgent Notification by @hmiprisonsnews.bsky.social

💥 28% of imprisoned are non-British nationals.
📊 AVID’s FOI: 10 people on average are held under immigration powers.

We don’t need new prisons. We need a new approach.

Image of Derwentside detention center and what they don't want you to see report by IMB

The numbers - 60% of the people released back and unnecessary detention from the start

Government failures and deliberate cruel policy

take action - join a visitors group, join a protest and share this post

IMB's 2024 Derwentside detention center for women report is out.
⚖️ 3/5 women released on bail (detention was unnecessary)
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Mothers separated from children
🏥 'Adults at risk' with mental health crises kept detained

You can take action to support and stand in solidarity with women in this center👇

❤️🖤❤️ Tonight! ❤️🖤❤️

Join us at 6:30pm!

We look forward to seeing you at the online launch of the National Day of Solidarity to End Immigration Detention 2025

Come and find out how you can get involved!

Booking information ⬇️

righttoremain.org.uk/17-july-onli...

Sad statistics from the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman report: 35% increase in deaths in prison and other custody last year.
At least one death at Brook House IRC which has pending Inquest hearing later this month.

The Labour government must act quickly and now.

Accountability? Just for show.
The High Court has just ruled that the Home Office’s system for investigating complaints of mistreatment of people in detention is procedurally unfair.
It echoes the findings of the Brook House Inquiry.

📘Read more:
www.duncanlewis.co.uk/Reported_Cas...

The Supreme Court just ruled the Home Office acted unlawfully—again.

A win for Medical Justice and for every person NGOs resisting unchecked detention powers.

NGOs like AVID and visitor groups must be able to scrutinise policy that affects liberty.
www.wilsonllp.co.uk/news/supreme...

Ali Smith: ‘Refugee Tales is a small bright spot in dark ... In 2015 the novelist Ali Smith was invited to tell the story of a former detainee. Ten years on, she explains why the project is more necessary than ever

Ali Smith writes in @theobserver.bsky.social ‘Ten years on, in even darker times for the people rendered voiceless and used as political expedience every day, Refugee Tales is more necessary than ever.’ shorturl.at/Fl5Z7 @rsliterature.bsky.social @commapress.bsky.social @aviddetention.bsky.social

No more desert islands.
We’re building bridges - through sign-in support, bail help, visitors group and protests.

We don’t need more cages.
We need more courage, compassion, and collective action.

We refuse detention.
We choose solidarity.
(5/5)

Last month, the Prime Minister claimed Britain is turning into an “island of strangers”—blaming people seeking safety for social breakdown.

But we reject that - yesterday was a notable example.
We are not strangers
We are neighbours, networks, and communities of care.
bsky.app/profile/birc...
(4/5)

But these aren’t accidents of policy. They’re islands of control, purpose-built to isolate

Detention centres like Derwentside, Manston, & Yarl's Wood are part of a carceral archipelago, scattered across the UK, where the state disappears people—often racialised, queer, poor, and marginalised.
(3/5)

Our Director, Gee Manoharan, described detention as a “dysfunctional desert island”—a carceral archipelago where people are exiled, abandoned, and hidden from public view.

Listen to lived experience voices on furthering this notion of what it feels like in our bodies of being detained!
(2/5)

An inspiring gathering last night in #Birmingham to discuss reporting that leads to #immigrationdetention - and how we can build on this momentum to grow solidarity actions that make the community count.

Thank you for inviting us, Helen, Steph and Sheila from @birchnetwork.bsky.social
(1/5) 🧵

Today!
Sunday 22nd June 2025
12 noon: Rally at the Campsfield site (Langford Lane, Kidlington OX5 1RE)

1 mile walk to Kidlington Methodist Church; refreshments and discussions in the Rear Hall.

Let’s walk together to say: Keep Campsfield Closed.
Immigration detention is an abuse of human rights.

Parliamentlive.tv Home Affairs Committee

Home Affairs Select Committee is questioning the Home Secretary today at 2:30 PM, topics including:

- Government plans for immigration
- Tackling small boat crossings

Watch here:
parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/...

If you or anyone you know would like to volunteer with our incredible Casework Team, the application deadline is this Sunday 25 May. We're seeking Volunteer Visitors and Volunteer Interpreters to offer a lifeline to people in detention. Details here:
detentionaction.org.uk/get-involved...

Today marks the start of #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek. Immigration detention harms mental health — a fact repeatedly voiced by people with lived experience and backed by research. This week, we're raising awareness of that harm. Follow us to learn more.

Quotes from people in detention about the benficial impact of Scottish Detainee Visitors' visiting service.

Knowing that someone cares and takes the time to visit #Dungavel makes a real difference to people detained there, as these quotes from people we've visited show.
If you'd like to help us keep making that difference, please consider making a donation.
cafdonate.cafonline.org/19178#!/Dona...

Our friends at @detentionaction.bsky.social are looking for a Fundraising Lead! Find out more how you can be part of an inspiring team providing vital support to people detained and challenging the injustices of detention: bsky.app/profile/dete...

Blog | Supporting people leaving detention in the NACCOM network - NACCOM Neglected by these figures and headlines is the reality of what this process entails, and the harm caused to individuals targeted. One such element of the removal process is the use of immigration…

A rise in enforcement and returns activity and the increased criminalisation of people seeking #asylum has resulted in an increase in #ImmigrationDetention.

We're working with @aviddetention.bsky.social to help community organisations support detention leavers:

➡️

Blog | Supporting people leaving detention in the NACCOM network - NACCOM

People leaving the "mental torture" of immigration detention shouldn't then experience homelessness and destitution.

We're working closely with @aviddetention.bsky.social to identify how community organisations can better support detention leavers.

➡️ Read our blog!

naccom.org.uk/blog-support...

People held at UK asylum centre sue government for human rights breach Asylum seekers detained at Manston in Kent say they were kept in unsanitary tents during infectious disease outbreak

We've said it before, and we'll say it again: detention is a cruel violation of dignity that subjects people seeking safety to dehumanising conditions, and continues the colonial tradition of treating people from the Global South as assets to be moved around.

#AbolishDetention

buff.ly/KXeuOVt

ℹ️Whether you are facing deportation or removal, swiftly seeking professional legal advice as to your options is likely to be vital to ensuring the best possible outcome.

This article seeks to clarify the differences between deportation and removal within the context of UK immigration law.

Roughly 1 in 2 people detained are eventually released back into the community, their detention having served no purpose!

👇See more info on this thread about: What are immigration detention centers like in the UK?
#ImmigrationDetention

People held at UK asylum centre sue government for human rights breach Asylum seekers detained at Manston in Kent say they were kept in unsanitary tents during infectious disease outbreak

"She herself vomited every morning and later discovered she was pregnant. She was unable to access medical care while in #Manston, and when she was released and could seek treatment, it was discovered that the baby had died inside her."
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...