Hello friends, family, colleagues, and anyone else who has found themselves on this joint fundraising page!

For those who only know one of us, Alice is an immigration lawyer and Anna has spent a decade working in the charity sector. We are old uni mates and this year are taking on the Hackney Half together to fundraise for Bail for Immigration Detainees (BID).

What is BID and why are we supporting them?

BID is an independent charity which, since 1999, has supported over 46,000 people to get out of immigration detention and has borne witness to and evidenced many gross abuses of state power.

Did you know that the Home Office has the power to detain people *indefinitely* and without trial? Around 27,000 people are locked up in this way each year in the UK.

The Home Office also has a long record of terrible decision making - as was made so clear by the Windrush scandal - with devastating consequences for those impacted. In FY2023-24 alone, they paid out around *£12 million* of compensation to people they had wrongfully detained.

You may have seen the BBC Panorama programme that aired in 2017, exposing the horrific conditions and abuse experienced by detainees at Brook House Immigration Detention centre. If you haven't, we'd encourage you to - though brace yourselves as it's a harrowing watch. That programme led to a public inquiry announced in 2019, whose final report in 2023 included 33 recommendations. Last year the Home Office was taken to court for failing to adequately act on those recommendations. The case was ultimately lost, but it is clear for those working in this space that immigration detention in the UK continues to inflict untold harm on those subjected to it - both in principle and in practice.

This is all the more concerning in a context of increasing hostility towards migrants in this country, and amid a raft of harsh government proposals, including to increase enforced returns, and allow the handcuffing of children as part of that process. We should be justifiably horrified at the actions of ICE across the pond, but we should also take note of how migrants are being treated much closer to home.

Where does BID come in?

BID has been helping people exercise their right to liberty alongside campaigning for an end to immigration detention for over 20 years.

Your donation will support them to:

- provide legal advice to people in immigration detention

- reunite parents separated from their children by detention

- provide legal representation to people facing deportation.

For small charities like BID, every single penny counts. They run all their projects without public funding, so it's the generosity of people like you that keeps them going.

How can you support us?

The ask is simple - we are raising £800 between us, which is what it costs to keep the phone advice line running for two weeks, so that people in detention can access vital legal information and support.

The run is a personal challenge for us, which is why we're covering the cost of our own race entry (£96), but we need your support with the rest.

We'd be super grateful if you can help us with any donation, big or small. If you're a UK tax payer, don't forget to opt in to gift aid, which will increase your donation by 25% at no cost to you.

And if you can't donate, please support migrants' rights in whatever other ways you can - including challenging toxic fearmongering and the scapegoating of migrants whenever you hear it.

You can find out more about immigration detention and BID’s work on their website

www.biduk.org.

Thank you for your support!

Rewind to 15 years ago - Alice and Anna protesting for the closure of Campsfield Detention Centre