About

In December 2018, a quarter of a century after Campsfield immigration detention centre opened near Oxford, it was finally closed. 

Oxford Against Immigration Detention (OAID) takes over where the Campaign to Close Campsfield (CCC) left off in spring 2019.

OAID aims to

• Close all UK detention centres and detention wings in prison
• Stop immigration detentions and imprisonment
• Stop racist deportations
• Repeal immigration laws which reinforce racism

Strategies

The campaign believes in peaceful protest. At monthly public planning meetings, we plan what we are going to do. We have three priorities:

• To build support for the campaign to end immigration detention and other “hostile environment” policies in the UK
• To give moral support to immigration detainees and show that we welcome them here
• To work with other organisations nationally (and beyond) to achieve the aims of the campaign

What we do

• We organise events in and around Oxford. There have been human rights camps outside Campsfield House IRC, lobbies of parliament, public meetings, debates, street stalls, video showings, art exhibitions and street theatre. We seek to involve local schools, trades unions, religious and political groups in our activities.
• We publicise the issues through the media. We have written articles for local newspapers, provided press releases locally and nationally, and given interviews on local and national radio and television.
• We seek to amplify the voice of people in detention and support their struggles. 
• We support other anti-detention campaigns, e.g. End Heathrow Immigration Detention. We also work closely with many local organisations that support refugees and migrants.
• We make links with other groups. We helped to found the National Network Against Detentions and Deportations, the Barbed Wire Britain Network Against Refugee and Migrant Detention, and the Detention Forum to coordinate action at national level.
• We work to influence the policy of other groups. We seek to change the policy of trade unions and political parties in a progressive direction on immigration detention, and send speakers to many groups.