Immigration detention in the UK analysed by Migration Observatory

The Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford has released a briefing on immigration detention in the UK. The briefing discusses the capacity of the UK’s detention estate—including the number of detainees, their characteristics, and lengths of detention. It also looks at the detention of children and the total costs of operating the estate.

The key points of the briefing are as follows:• approximately 24,700 people entered immigration detention in the UK in 2018, 10% fewer than in 2017

• from 2009 to 2018, the population of immigration detainees was between around 1,800 and 3,500, falling to a low of 1,784 in the last quarter of 2018

• around one-third of immigration detainees were held for longer than 28 days between 2010 and 2018

• around half of those entering immigration detention have sought asylum in the UK at some point

• in 2018, 63 children were detained for immigration purposes, down from around 1,100 in 2009

• in the fourth quarter of 2018 it cost, on average, £87.71 per day to hold someone in immigration detention

Source: Report about immigration detention

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