We demand an immediate stop to the huge expansion of Haslar and Campsfield detention centres, part of the government’s plans to increase detention capacity across the UK by 40%. This government is continuing to prioritise the construction of more detention spaces, ignoring the devastating impact it has on individuals and communities.

As people with lived experience of detention and people from across our communities, whether we are directly affected or not, we know the harm detention causes. We refuse to stand by while the government expands a system that subjects more people to fear, uncertainty and dehumanisation. The harm of detention reaches far beyond the centres themselves. It affects families, friends and whole communities, changing how people live, trust, love and feel safe, while those around them are often left carrying the consequences long after detention ends.

It is time for Andy Burnham and Shabana Mahmood to stand up, reject the politics of anti-migrant hostility and choose the side of compassion and justice. No more migrant prisons, no more separation of families, no more communities living with the fear and harm of detention and immigration enforcement. We all deserve to live, work, love and build our lives in safety and dignity.