Email your MP: Limit detention of innocent migrants to 28 days!

The UK is the one of the few countries in the world which does not have a time limit on depriving people of their freedom. Migrants are imprisoned in detention centres in the UK when they cannot be returned to their home countries. For example if it is too dangerous in their home country, or if they have lost their passport, become stateless, or can no longer prove their original nationality.

Victims of indefinite detention have reported suffering from significant mental health problems as a result of the stress experienced in staying in detention centres, where some have been held for years.

Detention Centre Yarl's Wood near Bedford has been labelled 'a place of national concern' by the Chief Inspector of Prisons, and is under scrutiny for indefinitely detaining pregnant women and victims of torture with mental health care needs. MPs have called for it to be shut down.

As part of the Immigration Bill, on 15 March 2016 the House of Lords voted for a 28 day detention limit, except when a court decides otherwise. However, this amendment is highly likely to be contested at the Consideration of Amendments stage of the Bill, when it will return to the House of Commons for approval. It's crucial that we email our MPs by signing this petition, to ask them to pass this amendment when the Immigration bill returns to the Commons.

Sign now to email your MP to let them know that you support an end to indefinite detention of migrants - and ask them to pass the Immigration Bill's amendment of a limit of 28 days - however they plan to vote on the Bill overall. If enough people email their MPs, they will see that their constituents support a 28 day limit on detention of migrants.

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In the UK in 2014, 32,053 people were detained, compared to Germany's 4,309 (which received four times the amount of asylum applications). In response to various MP's calls for a limit of 28 days, Immigration Minister James Brokenshire refused, saying he would "only comment after an ongoing Government review into detention has been finalised". The Shaw Review into the welfare in detention of vulnerable persons was published in January 2016.

If you wish to write to the Immigration Minister, the address is: James Brokenshire, House of Commons, London, SW1 0AA. Alternatively you can email: contact@jamesbrokenshire.com.

You can tweet him at @JBrokenshire.

More information can be found on the following websites:

Detention Action
Refugee Council
Women for Refugee Women
Immigration Bill