Our take on the 'New Plan for Immigration’

Last week, Home Secretary Priti Patel announced a public consultation on her ‘New Plan For Immigration’. The New Plan represents a series of measures that prioritise enforcement and incarceration over case resolution in immigration policy.

Community-based case management alternatives are cheaper, more humane and more effective at resolving people’s immigration cases. The Government pledged to pursue these options, but they aren’t mentioned in the New Plan, so we are here to remind them to stick to their promises.

We urge all our partners and friends to respond to the consultation, to make sure the views of organisations working in detention, and most importantly, of people with lived experience of detention are heard.

The ‘New Plan’ proposes using ‘Reception Centres’ as a form of quasi-detention for people seeking asylum, as opposed to housing people in the community while their claim is assessed. Worryingly, the ‘New Plan’ will also leave the door open for offshore detention facilities by making it possible for asylum claims to be processed outside the UK.

The Home Secretary billed her proposals as compassionate and necessary. However, we know from experience that any approach that aims to expand both detention and quasi-detention without considering alternatives is intentionally dehumanising and harmful.

Our community stands for engagement, not enforcement. We know that there is another way.