(C) OpenDemocracy This story was originally published by OpenDemocracy and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Don’t assume Labour will be progressive on migrant detention [1] [] Date: 2024-10 The Labour Party is in power in the UK, after 14 years of Conservative rule that stripped the country of its public services while scapegoating migrants for falling living standards. For many it’s a reason to hope that things will now get better. Those of us interested in migrants’ rights are hardly immune to this temptation. Compared to the obsessive cruelty shown by the Tory governments of the past few years, we might believe a Labour government would show more compassion and sensibility in this area. But the initial signs are mixed. On the one hand, Keir Starmer has promised to scrap the Rwanda plan and reduce the asylum backlog that has trapped over 80,000 people in limbo. On the other, the government has pledged to establish a new ‘counter terrorism-style’ Border Security Command for coordinating cross-border policing; reintroduce fast-track deportations supported by ‘a new returns and enforcement unit’; and seek new return agreements with third countries to facilitate that work. In a sign of things to come, just weeks after the election Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, directed thousands of staff from the now-dead Rwanda plan to support increased immigration raids on nail bars and carwashes. Labour has also committed to continuing the Conservatives’ expansion of detention, pushing ahead with the reopening of the Haslar and Campsfield facilities despite widespread local and national opposition. The UK practices indefinite detention for migrants. Asylum seekers can spend months or even years locked up without an end date, despite not facing criminal charges or posing a danger to society. Campaigners have long pushed back against this, but UK policymakers have refused to institute time limits – despite all other European countries doing so. With the change of government, anti-detention activists are once again gearing up to push for changes to this system. But before they go to Westminster, it would benefit them to first look across the Atlantic. When the US transitioned from the Trump to the Biden administration after the 2020 election, it brought similar relief and optimism to progressive campaigners. But while there were some wins early on, in many ways it actually set the anti-detention movement back a step or two. If that isn’t to happen here as well, those advocating for more humane treatment of migrants in the UK must learn how to avoid the same pitfalls. ‘Defund Hate’: a cautionary tale The Biden administration’s approach to immigration on the heels of Trump is a cautionary tale. It warns us that, regardless of who is in power, we must keep our eyes on the ball and officeholders’ feet to fire. Backing off and giving the benefit of the doubt to supposedly more progressive administrations only leads to disappointment, if not disaster. Launched shortly after Trump assumed office in 2017, Defund Hate was a coalition of 74 organisations including advocacy groups, directly-impacted communities, faith-based groups, civil rights and migrant justice campaigners. They formed in response to Trump’s programme of hostility that supercharged a decades-long U.S. policy of deterrence – which came to include the ‘Muslim ban’, the ‘asylum ban’, widespread child detention and family separation at the border – and connected across broad issues to form one demand: significant cuts in funding to ICE and CBP. The coalition achieved some significant wins. Combining legislative lobbying in Congress, grassroots mobilising, and communications work, Defund Hate blocked $15 billion in requested federal funding from going to immigration enforcement. The connections fostered between organisations with diverse political perspectives and agendas was another important achievement of the coalition, helping to mainstream abolitionist goals and build a wider base for the movement. In 2021, Biden entered the White House. His administration promised to overturn Trump-era policies, institute a ‘fair and humane’ immigration system, and reduce the use of immigration detention. But that didn’t really happen. While he stopped some of the Trump administration's most egregious policies, ended contracts for a handful of detention centres, and established some very limited migration pathways, overall the Biden administration has taken a pretty hostile approach. It increased immigration enforcement at the border, expanded the detention estate, and used an executive order to effectively ban the right to asylum for people arriving at the US border. Along with these polices came ever-increasing budgets for immigration enforcement agencies, the very target of the Defund Hate campaign from the beginning. All this is reason for Defund Hate to still be going strong. Yet it isn’t. Once Biden entered office it lost its momentum and is no longer the force it once was. The question is, why? Lessons: the challenge of ‘progressive’ governments The experience of Defund Hate provides some useful lessons for anti-detention progressives facing a period of transition from a hard right government to a supposedly more liberal regime. For us, these are the three major takeaways. Coalitions for progressive change need more than a shared enemy The Defund Hate coalition was initially so successful because the overt racism and hate of the Trump administration had a mobilising effect on a wide range of advocates in the immigrant rights sector. The extreme nature of his policies also made people, including elected officials and advocacy organizations, more receptive to clear abolitionist demands. However, the coalition and strategy were both ultimately defensive. They attempted to hold back the wave of border violence that Trump unleashed. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/beyond-trafficking-and-slavery/dont-assume-labour-will-put-time-limit-on-migrant-detention-uk/ Published and (C) by OpenDemocracy Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-ND 4.0. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/opendemocracy/