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Detention Action @detentionaction.bsky.social · 8h

People seeking asylum are given only seven days to challenge their removal to France. Predictably, the system in place to provide legal support for people in detention is failing. Some are unable to obtain legal representation and end up missing crucial deadlines.

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Detention Action @detentionaction.bsky.social · 1d

Many people we support who are facing removal to France speak little to no English. The Home Office only provides crucial information in English with very limited interpretation. People seeking asylum often don't know why they're detained, some even after weeks locked away.

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Detention Action @detentionaction.bsky.social · 6d

Escaping persecution. Losing loved ones. Surviving smugglers & dangerous journeys. Reaching the UK. Being denied the right to work. Waiting months or years for protection. Living in fear of detention & return, all before rebuilding your life.

PM Starmer: This is no "golden ticket".

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Detention Action @detentionaction.bsky.social · 14d

People seeking asylum have survived torture, war, abuse, and the violent loss of loved ones. Under this scheme, they are now thrown into prison-like detention facilities and often trapped in small cells for up to 12 hours a day. Detention causes great harm to their health.

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Detention Action @detentionaction.bsky.social · 19d

The scheme has been beset with foreseeable problems. Screening for vulnerabilities and age is not working and the system designed to get people legal advice has predictably failed. The only way to stop this chaos is to end this deal urgently: www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

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Detention Action @detentionaction.bsky.social · 20d

People are arriving from Afghanistan, Palestine, Syria and elsewhere, seeking our protection, only to be locked in small cells and denied the support they urgently need. The new home secretary must change course and stop putting people in even more danger: www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/poli...

Starmer’s migrant plan in jeopardy as man wins High Court bid to block removal

Downing Street forced to deny ‘one in, one out’ deal with France is a ‘shambles’ after two failed deportation attempts

www.independent.co.uk

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Detention Action @detentionaction.bsky.social · 21d

Hear Fessahaye's story: he fled torture and slavery, only to be detained in the UK and threatened with removal under the new asylum deal. Detention is harsh, harmful, and wholly unsuitable for those fleeing war, torture, and persecution.
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

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Detention Action @detentionaction.bsky.social · Sep 8

As Shabana Mahmood MP steps into the role of Home Secretary, we urge her to deliver justice, fairness and compassion in the immigration and asylum systems, by ending indefinite detention and protecting the rights of people seeking asylum.

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Detention Action @detentionaction.bsky.social · Sep 2

Would you or someone you know like to volunteer at Detention Action? Last year, our amazing Casework Team provided a lifeline to 630 people trapped in immigration detention, supporting them to stand up for their rights.

Find out more: detentionaction.org.uk/get-involved/volunteer

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Detention Action @detentionaction.bsky.social · Aug 29

Detention should be used only as a last resort, and for the shortest time possible. The government is failing spectacularly on both those counts.

The government must urgently introduce a time limit on immigration detention.

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Detention Action @detentionaction.bsky.social · Aug 29

Despite detaining thousands more people, more than 50% of people held in detention were later released back into the community, raising serious questions about why they were ever detained in the first place.

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Detention Action @detentionaction.bsky.social · Aug 29

From 2024 to 2025, the government detained 25% more people in Immigration Removal Centres.

These are harsh, prison-like facilities where people are often locked in small cells for 12 hours a day.

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Detention Action @detentionaction.bsky.social · Aug 27

“These people are so exhausted and so traumatised yet somehow they keep themselves so calm.” Hear from staff at the hidden Manston asylum centre speak about the treatment of people fleeing war, torture, and persecution to seek safety here.
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

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Detention Action @detentionaction.bsky.social · Aug 26

The government is detaining more than 100 people who crossed the Channel, in small cells and harsh conditions. Many have escaped war, persecution and torture and are living with PTSD, depression and anxiety. Detention is no place for people seeking asylum.
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

More than 100 people detained for removal after arriving in small boats, says UK government

Those held expected to be returned to France under ‘one in, one out’ scheme, but no one yet granted safe route to UK

www.theguardian.com

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Detention Action @detentionaction.bsky.social · Aug 21

2/2 This government is now detaining some in cells smaller than a parking space, while denying them adequate support. This exposes them to stress, confusion, isolation, and potential abuse from staff, further harming their mental health. People seeking asylum need safety, not cells.

Detention Action @detentionaction.bsky.social · Aug 21

1/2 Many people who cross the Channel to seek protection here have endured war, torture, sexual assault, and the violent loss of loved ones. Research shows asylum seekers are 8 times more likely to have PTSD and 2.5 times more likely to suffer depression.

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Detention Action @detentionaction.bsky.social · Aug 14

We strongly support establishing safe routes. But they must be reliable and accessible—a pathway that people seeking asylum can depend on whenever they are in need, with or without their passports, and regardless of whether they have reached France.

Detention Action @detentionaction.bsky.social · Aug 14

In its asylum deal, this government accepts people seeking asylum via France, but only if it removes those who cross the Channel. This "transfer scheme" relies on other people risking their lives at sea, only to be locked up and sent back. This isn’t what a safe route looks like.

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Detention Action @detentionaction.bsky.social · Aug 12

Along with 212 organisations, we call on all party leaders to end the divisive politics, racist rhetoric and demonising language of the past. Thanks to @refugeestogether.bsky.social for rallying everyone to this cause. You can read the full letter here:
togetherwithrefugees.org.uk/far-right-re...

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Detention Action @detentionaction.bsky.social · Aug 7

This government is now singling out an unknown number of people who crossed the Channel - detaining them, blocking their asylum claims and rushing them back to France. We stand firm in defending everyone's right to seek asylum.

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Detention Action @detentionaction.bsky.social · Aug 5

Under the new asylum deal, some people crossing the Channel will be detained and sent to France, with their asylum claims not even considered in the UK. This government is denying people the right to seek asylum here simply because of how they reach the UK.

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Detention Action @detentionaction.bsky.social · Jul 29

Home Office annual accounts reveal the shocking scale of unlawful detention for migrants in the UK. Whether a result of flawed decision-making, rushed deportation processes, or limited access to legal advice, too many people are being detained unlawfully and at too high a cost.

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Detention Action @detentionaction.bsky.social · Jul 23

We condemn the recent violence targeting people seeking asylum. Politicians must recognise that dehumanising language and hostile policies fuel division. We urge this government to lead by example and offer support to people fleeing persecution. They deserve SAFETY, not cruelty.

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Detention Action @detentionaction.bsky.social · Jul 23

The report states “a longstanding and fundamental problem was that all immigration detainees at Brook House, who should be held in relaxed conditions with minimal restrictions, were instead in an institution that looked and felt like a prison”

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Detention Action @detentionaction.bsky.social · Jul 23

At Harmondsworth, one of the immigration removal centres inspected, there was suicide attempt when inspectors were on the site. Inspectors highlighted “a high level of unmet mental health need” and poor support to those at risks of self-harm.

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