Monday, June 20, 2011

UK Immigration - Detainees held too long

UK - Immigration detainees held for 'excessively long' periods – watchdog

Harmondsworth under spotlight for holding detainees as long as three years at a cost of £110 a night, says IMB report
Ministers have been warned by an official immigration watchdog of the "excessively long" periods, including cases of more than three years, that detainees are being held at Europe's largest removal centre.

A "snapshot" taken last December showed that 35 detainees at Harmondsworth removal centre, near Heathrow airport, had been waiting more than 12 months to be deported, including seven who had been waiting more than two years.
Harmondsworth's officially appointed independent monitoring board (IMB) said one man had been held in detention for three years and seven months at a cost of £110 a night. The bill is already more than £144,000.

"This is not only emotionally costly to detainees but expensive for the taxpayer," says the IMB's annual report to the immigration minister, Damian Green. It adds that the latest national figures show that as of 3 March, 170 detainees around the country have been held more than two years waiting for their removal....more

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