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Date submitted

22 July 2026

Submitted by

Interested party

I actively oppose the expansion of the Campsfield Immigration Removal Centre. Expanding the detention estate is proven not to increase removals. According to a report from Scottish Detainee Visitors, one of the government's key purposes of detention is to remove people from the UK, but in 2024 only 43% of people leaving detention were returned, a fact which has been under 50% since 2015. I believe the expansion will just act to further traumatise people and cost taxpayers money that does not need to be spent. I think this will negatively impact people in the community by also traumatising neighbours, friends and family of people taken to detention. Migrants are essential to our communities. They should not have to wait for decisions while in detention, but they should be in our communities. The government should explore community-based alternatives, which have been shown to work even for people with criminal records and barriers to removal. Overall, I think the expansion of Campsfield is not only damaging to people detained, but to everyone in the UK. This should not go forward.