More than 700 detainees including convicted criminals have been released by the Home Office from
immigration detention centres because the
Coronavirus pandemic means they cannot be deported. The Home Office was forced to release at least 50 of them by judicial tribunals despite warning that they could pose a risk to the public. The Government has had to free them because by law they can only detain them if they can remove them from the
UK “within a reasonable time.” More than 40 countries to which the Home Office planned to remove them have either closed their borders or imposed travel restrictions, making deportation impossible and requiring the detainees to be released. A further 370 - described as largely convicted foreign offenders by the Home Office - are still being held in immigration detention centres The release follows legal action begun in March by Detention Action, which claimed a “significant proportion” of the 1,500 held in immigration detention centres had serious underlying health conditions which left them facing a “significant risk of serious harm or death” from coronavirus. It warned their continued detention was unlawful given the lack of flights in which to remove them within a “reasonable period of time.” The Government challenged the release of 58 of the immigrants who had appealed their detention, saying it was reasonable “in light of their particular situation, the likelihood of their absconding if released, and the level of risk they pose to the public.” The 700 include those who have overstayed their visas, asylum seekers, illegal migrants and people with convictions. Detention Action is now considering further legal action to force the release of the remaining 370 to protect them from the deadly coronavirus. Bella Sankey, director of Detention Action, said any foreign offenders released would have served their time and be subject to the same conditions as
British offenders including probation and licence restrictions. “We are thinking about options that I think will involve some future litigation because we don’t think the response so far is adequate,” she said. Meanwhile, Priti Patel, the Home Secretary, said a spike in migrant boats making the dangerous crossing of the English Channel is linked to lockdown restrictions on road and train crossings.