Introduction to Immigration Detention: 2024 Briefing Series

Immigration detention is a crucial but often overlooked aspect of the UK’s migration system. In 2023-24, the Home Office held 18,918 people in immigration detention centres across the UK.

Detention is inherently harmful to people’s physical and mental health and indefinite detention – without a time limit – even more so.

At the same time, independent monitors and charities have recorded declining conditions, barriers to healthcare and legal support, and increasing rates of self-harm and suicidal ideation.

From 2023-24, more than 50% of people detained were later released on immigration bail. This raises serious questions about whether their detention was ever justified.

Following the 2024 General Election, 335 new MPs entered Parliament; the most new MPs to be elected since 1945. For many, they will be unfamiliar with the reality of immigration detention and the urgent need for fundamental changes to that system.

Produced in collaboration with Detention Action, Medical Justice and the Immigration Law Practitioners’ Association (ILPA), our new series of briefings aim to introduce you to the facts, figures and harsh realities of immigration detention in the UK.

You can download each briefing below. 

Email them to your MP