Campaigners gathered this weekend for their regular demonstration outside Derwentside Immigration Removal Centre, to show support for the women held at the facility.
The protest is the 21st monthly demonstration to take place in addition to regular interfaith vigils, three national demonstrations and various peaceful solidarity actions.
Derwentside Immigration Centre, near Consett, County Durham, opened on the side of the former Hassockfield Secure Training Centre in December 2021, replacing Yarl’s Wood as the sole women-only centre in the UK.
As part of the protest, campaigners released orange flares and chanted next to the fence closest to the accommodation blocks.
Campaigners made cards during the protest containing messages of support and solidarity, in French, Romanian, Farsi, English, Chinese, and Russian, languages spoken by many of the women inside.
At the end of the protest, campaigners walked around the locked gates at the top of the road, onto Ministry of Justice land and handed the cards to guards waiting for them at the front door.
Mel Kakkar, a member of the No to Hassockfield campaign group said: “It felt really important to go down to the front door to deliver the cards to the women inside with messages of support, especially this weekend when so many of us are celebrating with our mothers and spending time with our families.
“On Mother’s Day we spend time thinking about the importance of the women in our lives. There is so much negativity around immigration and people seeking asylum at the moment, led by our government, it feels really important to get messages of support and solidarity to the women imprisoned in the centre. This is a really important part of our campaign.”
The new Illegal Migration Bill passed its second reading on March 13, has led to prompting campaigners being concerned than ever for the rights of those seeking safety in the UK.
Drwentside IRC is the UK’s main immigration detention facility for women deemed to be “illegal immigrants” or “foreign criminals.”
Detainees have often been relocated from all over the UK and are many miles from their families.
One of the groups joining the demonstration today was “Woman, Life, Freedom”, a Newcastle based group campaigning for the human rights of women in Iran.
This demonstration takes place the weekend before the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on March 21.
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A Home Office spokesperson said: “The Home Office takes the welfare of people in our care extremely seriously and has specific guidance on how to safeguard women in detention.
“Immigration detention makes a limited but essential contribution to tackling illegal migration and protecting the public.
“Derwentside IRC is tailor-designed to cater to the needs of the women and includes vital services such as mental health support and a bespoke healthcare facility, and we have policies and procedures in place to safeguard vulnerable people.”
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