A damning report just revealed the shocking conditions of an immigration removal center close to Heathrow Airport in the U.K. According to The Guardian, inspectors say it was the worst they had ever seen. Some of the immigrants detained in the center include sex trafficking and forced labor survivors.
Home Office incompetence coming at migrants’ expense
Harmondsworth is a 658-bed immigration removal center, the largest of its kind in Europe. In their 68-page report, His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) said that overall conditions at Harmondsworth were the worst they had found anywhere.
Chief Inspector of prisons, Charlie Taylor said:
“The level of chaos that we found at Harmondsworth was truly shocking and we left deeply concerned that some of those held there were at imminent risk of harm,”
Taylor stated that immigrants should only be detained at the center if they are set to be removed quickly from the country. However, inspectors discovered that only a third of detainees were removed, with around 60% simply being released. Not to mention, the conditions they faced while there were “truly shocking”. Almost half of the detainees told inspectors they felt suicidal during their stay. Numerous suicide attempts were documented, with one suicide attempt happening during the HMIP inspection.
“Nothing short of a national emergency”
Some detainees at Harmondsworth complained of excessive use of force by staff. The inspectors highlighted a few examples of how badly detainees were treated in the report. One particularly alarming case was that of a man who had suffered severe mistreatment and was exploited for sex work and forced labor. After being detained at Harmondsworth, he was later released and died alone in a hotel.
Emma Ginn, director of the charity Medical Justice, which supports immigration detainees, described the findings of the inspectors as “nothing short of a national emergency” saying:
“The Home Office has had long enough to improve detention conditions. The fact that it can’t even organize for ligature points already used in three attempted suicides to be removed, demonstrates its inability to improve conditions and its contempt for human life.”
The report said that in the six months prior to inspections, 23 detainees were identified as being at great risk of suicide. Some detainees said they were so cold in winter months they had to wear coats in their cells to keep warm. Fire doors were found to be surrounded by non-fire-retardant material leaving them at risk of not performing their function. Inspectors called the living areas inside the center “dilapidated” and “decrepit”.
A spokesperson for the Home Office said:
“We take the welfare and safety of people in our care very seriously and it is vital that detention and removals are carried out with dignity and respect.”
At Freedom United, we believe actions speak louder than words. If the dignity and respect of vulnerable people in their care is a priority for the U.K. Home Office, it’s time for centers like Harmondsworth to change. Immigrants fleeing challenges like violence, exploitation, and forced labor should not be subjected to further abuse and indignity while waiting for their case to be heard. Join us in the fight to call for safe migration that includes humane treatment towards people on the move everywhere.
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Terrible, though not at all unexpected.