Enforcement of Immigration & Asylum Legislation
The political rhetoric of the immigration/asylum debate has helped to create a climate where the Government wants to be seen to be active in removing people with criminal convictions, those without documents (including visa overstayers) and people whose asylum claims have been unsuccessful. There are targets for numbers to be removed and large numbers of deportations are trumpeted as a sign of political success.
Immigration officers, acting on behalf of the Home Office, have the right to detain anyone they suspect of committing an immigration offence, people waiting for a decision on an application for asylum this country or about to be removed. in practice this may include people who have strayed across the border, people seeking asylum who live in the community but who are thought to have broken the Home Office conditions e.g. by spending time away from home or by getting paid work. Detention periods may be very short or quite lengthy.
Immigration detention
The issue of immigration detention in Northern Ireland has given concern for some time. Numbers have risen over the years and there have been anxieties around treatment and conditions. In the past, the major campaigning issue was around the stigmatising of people who had not been convicted of any crime but were held in prison or prison-like conditions. A number of bodies here, including the Churches, have made representations to Government over the years. Partly because of this, male detainees were no longer housed in prison but moved to a dedicated wing in a small prison ‘work out unit’ on Belfast’s Crumlin Road in 2004. In the same year all women prisoners and female immigration detainees were moved from Maghaberry prison to Hydebank Wood Young Offenders’ Centre.
Used with permission.
The Refugee Action Group
(RAG)
The Refugee Action Group is an umbrella group of interested groups, including EMBRACE. It seeks to be an independent voice advocating on asylum and refugee issues, and supporting the refugee and asylum-seeking community in Northern Ireland.
Much of its information used to be gained from the first hand experiences of RAG volunteers, who visited detainees each week.
This image was drawn by Mohamed Khan while he was detained in Maghaberry Prison in 2001. It is the logo of the Refugee Action Group.
Detainee Figures
A RAG report on detention, published in February 2006, showed that the number of immigration detainees held in Northern Ireland continued to rise in 2005/2006.
RAG report on detention in 2005 [pdf]
- 120 people were held in detention in Northern Ireland at the orders of the Immigration Service during 2005, a 20% increase on a previous 12-month period (Mar 2004 – Feb 2005).
- Of this number, about one-third (37 people) were seeking asylum and over a quarter (33 people) were women.
- In 2005, immigration detainees came from 25 different countries but the majority (57%) were from various African countries, most notably Nigeria, where 45 of the detainees originated. China (8%), South Africa (7%) and Romania (7%) were the other most common countries of origin.
- About one-third of detainees (41 people) were subsequently deported to their country of origin, one-fifth (27 people) were transferred to detention in Great Britain and a further one-fifth (25 people) were released or bailed.
- Most (91%) of detainees were arrested while entering Northern Ireland, with most being seized at airports and ferry terminals.
Patrick Corrigan, of Amnesty and RAG, speaking about the report said:
‘Our figures reveal a clear and troubling upward trend in the practice of locking up people, of whom many have fled to Northern Ireland in fear of their lives.’
End of Local Detention
In 2005 the Government ended immigration detention in Northern Ireland. Instead, people apprehended here are sent to removal centres in Great Britain, a development of what RAG had already seen as a worrying trend in 2005. Some of the anxieties about this are as follows:
- Concern that people may not receive timely legal advice and there will therefore be greater risk of deportation to countries where human rights are abused.
- There will be less scrutiny and the spotlight of social concern
- If detainees are removed from Northern Ireland against their will, they will lose contact with family, friends and support networks including solicitors who are familiar with their cases.
Since this change it has indeed proved much more difficult to monitor how many people have been taken from Northern Ireland to removal centres in GB, or whether the other anxieties are well founded. However it is clear that the increase in numbers has continued, with at least several hundred people apprehended during last year, and removed to GB. In some cases it has proved more difficult for people to communicate with families and solicitors. The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission is examining the situation currently and RAG also hopes to undertake research when NIHRC have completed their review.
Belfast Immigration Enforcement Unit
A unit is planned to open shortly which will house Home Office officials and members of the PSNI. Gardai officers will be present in order to ensure that there is prompt liaison with the southern authorities. There is frustration that this enforcement unit is being put in place while there is no government centre giving helpful advice on immigration, at a time when the Northern Ireland economy is benefitting from so many migrant workers.
In addition to the earlier concerns, immigration documentation infringements are now criminal offences and this means that some people may once more be remanded within the prison system. There are also fears that people may be allocated solicitors with experience of criminal offences who lack the specialist expertise to advise on immigration and asylum cases.
About
EMBRACE is a group of Christians working together to promote a positive response to people seeking asylum, refugees, migrant workers and minority ethnic people in Northern Ireland.
