The Bail Observation Project have released a new report, based on 12 law students watching 55 bail hearings at Taylor House over six months. The majority of the hearings were conducted by video-link, meaning the person was in a room at the detention centre, while the judge, interpreter, lawyer (if there was one), friends and supporters of the individual were in the hearing room in London.
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PhD researcher Jo Hynes wrote this week about her observations on the use of video link technology in immigration bail hearings.
During her observations, bail was refused in 31% of the cases heard via video link and never refused in instances where cases were heard in person.
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The vitally important handbook produced by Bail for Immigration Detainees’ (BID) – ‘How to Get Out of Detention’ – has been translated into eighteen (18!) languages.
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Last month, the organisation Bail for Immigration Detainees (BID) released a briefing on the current situation of post-detention accommodation.
Already a problematic area, post-detention accommodation is now a crisis situation following the changes made in January 2018 (which you can read about on our blog here) which included the abolition of Section 4(1) accommodation. This accommodation was provided by the Home Office to people released from detention with nowhere else to stay, and with no other forms of support available to them.
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Since January 2018, people held in immigration detention centres have no longer been able to apply for “Section 4” accommodation to be bailed (released) to. This accommodation was named after Section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, which provided a form of support to refused asylum seekers and also accommodation for people applying to be released from detention if this accommodation was necessary to avoid breaching their human rights.
The 2016 Immigration Act repealed this accommodation (with a provision brought in in January 2018), but provided the power for the Home Office to provide accommodation if the person would be deprived of liberty otherwise. To get this, you would need to show that you meet “exceptional circumstances” criteria.
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This is a guest post by Tom Kemp. Tom is a member of SOAS Detainee Support and a PhD Student at Kent Law School. He is currently writing about anti-detention activism and political thinking in the everyday work of anti-border social movements.
Most of Schedule 10 of the Immigration Act 2016 were brought into force this month. Here’s 8 reason to hate them.
Read more From 15 January 2018, the provisions of the 2016 Immigration Act regarding immigration bail come into force.
This means that the status of “temporary admission” no longer exists. Temporary admission was a status which allowed a person to be lawfully in the UK without being detained (before they have been granted leave to remain). Most people who claim asylum were given “temporary admission” while a decision was made on their case. The document that shows you have temporary admission is called an IS96. If you had been detained, you could apply to the Home Office for temporary admission, also known as temporary release, from detention. This had less conditions than bail, but was not often granted.
From now on, any migrant lawfully in the UK without leave to remain (including asylum seekers) is technically on immigration bail. This is extremely confusing because if you are then detained, you also apply for immigration bail in order to be released from detention.
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Last year, our friends at Scottish Detainee Visitors let us know about a great resource by Immigration Bail Observation Project Scotland (IBOPS): Guide To Being A Cautioner In The Scottish Immigration Bail Process.
Read moreWhen people reach the UK, the struggle isn’t over. It's a hostile environment. Right to Remain relies on grants from charitable trusts and on donations from people like you. Your donation will help us to help people in their struggles for the right to remain in the UK, and to campaign for migration justice.
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Right to Remain works with communities, groups and organisations across the UK, providing information, resources, training and assistance to help people to establish their right to remain, and to challenge injustice in the immigration and asylum system. Right to Remain is a registered charity (charity number 1192934).
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