NCJ Number
142846
Date Published
1993
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This paper reviews the rationale for and the provisions of Britain's new Asylum and Immigration Appeals Bill which has been recently introduced into Parliament and offers recommendations for the use of detention with persons seeking political asylum.
Abstract
The measures proposed in the bill include accelerated appeal procedures for asylum-seekers held in detention while their cases are being considered. There has been some discussion of and plans for increasing the number of detention places for asylum seekers. This paper raises four primary issues related to such detention: the arbitrary nature of the detention power, the conditions of detention, the use of privately managed detention centers, and the availability of legal advice and assistance. This paper recommends minimal use of detention for asylum-seekers (for example, if there is a genuine doubt about identity), no detention for children under 16 years old, and the cessation of the use of detention as a deterrent to the seeking of asylum in Great Britain. There should also be judicial safeguards and independent monitoring of immigration detainees and a weekly listing of the names and places of all detainees, to be made available to agencies concerned about the detainees. Asylum-seekers should be held in facilities separate from sentenced offenders and be served by trained staff. Also, a specialist legal and advice service should be provided at all immigration detention centers or prisons.