Co-producing Justice

Bail for Immigration Detainees

We are a small human rights charity that provides free legal advice to people detained under immigration powers. Since 1999, we've provided legal advice on immigration bail to over 45,000 people, including asylum seekers, vulnerable adults, 'foreign national offenders', and those who are British in all but paperwork. This project will shift power in the organisation and across the sector towards people with lived experience. We will hire an Organiser to build a network of former clients to develop lived experience led strategies for our work. We also seek funding for the network’s expenses, training, events, and a consultancy fund to remunerate former clients for their contributions. Those who wish to move into similar work, will be offered employability support. Our pilot project, though limited in scope due to funding limitations, has produced remarkable results including publication in the press and by the Ministry of Justice. One client transitioned to full-time advocacy work saying: “Working with BID gave me the confidence and skills to look for a new career path despite my past and to be successful.” Your support would expand this project to benefit more people and create a lived experience led movement for a more just immigration system.