About

Detained in the UK is a blog by the charity Samphire.

Samphire is an independent charity, supporting and advocating for people who are detained in Dover Immigration Removal Centre, while the UK Border Agency deals with their asylum and immigration cases, for as long as it takes the UK Border Agency to deal with their cases – sometimes months, often years: immigration detention in the UK is indefinite.

Some people are released on bail to wait for a decision in their case, but asylum seekers and migrants with outstanding claims are not allowed to work in the UK or to access social support.  For this reason, Samphire also runs an ex-detainee project to support people facing destitution after detention.

By empowering volunteers in our local community to visit, and in turn, empower people being held in asylum and immigration detention, by empowering ex-detainees, and by sharing what we learn in our day-to-day casework, our aim is to challenge assumptions that you can be treated unfairly, depending on who you are or where you come from.  We lobby for policy change as part of networks which include The Detention Forum and Still Human Still Here.

There’s more to follow @samphire_ and we’d love to hear your comments, queries and suggestions for guest posts via info@samphireproject.org.uk.