of their detention was an alleged orrence, onty to bo suddealy rushed to the airport and thrown out - without even time to pick up their belongings or tell their family and friends.
The Fortress Britain strategy is being reinforced with the massive use of detention against potential immigrants and asy. lum seckers with up to 10,000 pcopic rockco up ar any one time. The London prisons are being used as an overspill for the detention centres.
People locked up can be held for anything from a few days to 18 months. They don't know how long they will be detained, and often find themselves sumUsually they find it very diff cult to get information about the progress or tneir casc, cyen tr they have been detained for months.
Detainees find it very difficult to get help, and frequently ing detained, or where they are. Sometimes they are put in places which are very from any family and friends wnw know tey are being octained, for example in the Verne 'With over 10,000 people being detained for immigration and asylum offences, Britain is operating a form of internment without trial - on a massive scale.
'Because of the 1988 Immigration Act overstaying is now a criminal offence, allowing people to be arrested without a warrant and summarily deported.' The procedures and strategies discussed so far relate to the Britain strategy. But the first outposts of Fortress Britain are the embassses and consulates re sponsible for issuing visas to ain.
Visa applications are dealt Ville prison were many detainces are held, and outside the tre near Heathrow Airport.
But the campaign against deportations and detention needs to be taken much more deeply Over the past two years we SOCIALIST OUTLOOK No. 48, September 1993, Page 9 Over 20,000 black people and anti-racists packed Burgess Park 7 August. Now the movement must build the 16 Octo. ber 'Unity' demo FIGHTING RACISM