A joint briefing published in May by JRS UK and Humans for Rights Network (HFRN) reveals a growing pattern of unaccompanied children being wrongly identified as adults, detained in immigration removal centres, and in some cases forcibly removed to France under the UK-France “one-in-one-out” agreement.
Thank you for attending tonight’s lecture.
This Sunday, the Catholic Church marks the World Day of Migrants and Refugees. Pope Leo XIV’s message this year, entitled Even Just One of These Children, focuses on children who have been forced to leave their homes. He reminds us of the dignity of every child and of our duty to welcome each one, as the Gospel teaches.
This is particularly fitting at a time when young people seeking sanctuary in the UK face an increasingly hostile climate. One acutely troubling development encountered by JRS UK and other charities, is the growing number of unaccompanied children in immigration detention, after they have been wrongly identified as adults.
A special thank you to Julie Etchingham and Dame Rachel de Souza for their thoughtful contributions tonight.
Learn more
Joint briefing exposes surge in children detained under UK-France ‘one-in-one-out’ scheme
Read more
What happens when children seeking safety are treated as adults and placed in immigration detention?
In this edition of Together, we explore the human cost of detention and the ways people are finding hope, dignity, and support. You’ll find:
- 5 things you need to know about immigration detention
- Reflections on our casework with children caught in immigration detention
- Sr Patricia’s reflections from her chaplaincy work at Harmondsworth IRC
- Insight into how the ‘one-in-one-out’ scheme is leading to the detention of children
- Reflections from young Ursuline school volunteers
