Amnesty urges action over ‘chaos’

Amnesty urges action over ‘chaos’ Many asylum seekers are being
detained unlawfully and are excluded from government statistics,
according to an Amnesty International report, which says the system
is in chaos.

It says it suspects 25,000 were detained in the UK last year
but says this information is not contained in the quarterly
“snapshots” provided by the government showing how many are
detained on a particular day.

It states that in many cases detention is protracted and unlawful
with many of those who are detained eventually allowed to remain in
the UK.

The report calls on the government to reveal precisely how many
people are detained each year and for how long.

It also calls for non-custodial measures, such as reporting
requirements, to be considered in every case before resorting to
detention, and for automatic reviews of the lawfulness of every
detention.

A Home Office spokesperson said that the power to detain people was
essential to having effective immigration controls, but added it
was studying the report.

Seeking Asylum is not a Crime: Detention of People who have
Sought Asylum from
www.amnesty.org.uk