The Home Office has announced that the initial group of asylum seekers has been relocated to a military facility in Sussex. A total of 27 individuals were the first to be accommodated at Crowborough training camp in the early hours of Thursday. In an effort to reduce the number of asylum seekers in hotels, the government plans to utilize abandoned Ministry of Defence sites extensively.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood stated, “Crowborough marks the beginning of our strategy. We will identify and utilize multiple sites until all asylum hotels are shut down and returned to local communities. Our aim is to reinstate order and security at our borders.”
The decision to use the Crowborough site has been met with controversy, leading to several protests since its proposal as an asylum center. The Home Office clarified that individuals will only stay at Crowborough for a maximum of three months while their asylum applications are processed, with removal for those whose applications are rejected.
The government disclosed that the number of hotels housing migrants has been reduced to less than 200 from over 400 during the previous administration. The Labour party has pledged to close the remaining hotels by 2029, with Keir Starmer expressing hopes for an earlier resolution.
Critics have raised concerns about the relocation strategy. Imran Hussain of the Refugee Council criticized the temporary nature of the approach, emphasizing that it will have minimal impact on reducing the overall number of asylum seekers in hotels. He suggested a more efficient solution of granting limited stays to individuals from countries like Sudan and Iran, where refugee status is highly probable.
Wealden District Council has opposed the use of the military facility for asylum seekers. Despite their objections, the council’s attempts to communicate their concerns have not been heeded by the Home Office. The council is exploring legal options but acknowledges the likelihood of the camp opening.
The Home Office assured that all individuals housed at the facility underwent screening against law enforcement, criminal, and immigration databases and completed initial health assessments before placement. As of September, there were 36,273 asylum seekers residing in hotels, awaiting asylum decisions. The figure had peaked at 56,018 in September 2023 under the previous government but decreased to 29,561 by June 2024, just prior to the general election.