Immigration detention and migrant rights
If your human rights have been breached we may be able to help you
We represent individuals who have been detained, discriminated against, had their human rights breached by or have otherwise been treated unlawfully by the Home Office.
We act for clients in both public law claims for judicial review and compensation claims. We are involved in challenges to a wide range of ‘hostile environment’ policies.
What our clients say
Main areas of work
We act for detainees seeking their release from immigration removal centres and prisons. We also regularly obtain substantial amounts of compensation for our clients.
Our clients include asylum seekers, people with criminal convictions or deportation orders, people with physical or mental health illnesses, trafficking and torture survivors.
We act for people who are currently in detention and people who have been released.
Most of our cases are brought by individuals but we also have a group claim specifically for people detained between 1 January 2014 and 15 March 2017 pending removal to an EU country.
Including challenges to remove curfews and electronic monitoring conditions and claims for compensation.
We act for individuals who have been assaulted, restrained or injured by escorts in seeking compensation from the Home Office and private contractors (G4S, Serco, Mitie).
We act for individuals in challenging delays in applications and suitability of accommodation (including in cases where the accommodation is unsuitable because an individual is pregnant or with young children, or has a disability). In 2016 our clients were successful in establishing that the delays in providing section 4(1)(c) bail accommodation were unlawful.
We bring challenges on behalf of individuals who the Home Office wish to exclude from the UK because they are deemed to pose a threat to national security, and whose cases are subject to closed proceedings in the Special Immigration and Appeals Commission.
We act for individuals seeking to challenge the Home Office’s failure to recognise their British Nationality.
Find out more about our Windrush work.
Meet the team
Jamie Beagent
Joint head of the human rights department specialising in judicial review and public law.
John Crowley
John Crowley is a senior associate solicitor in the human rights department.
Stephanie Hill
Stephanie Hill is a partner in the human rights department at Leigh Day.
Freya Danby
Freya is an associate solicitor in the human rights department
Most of our cases are funded by legal aid. If you are not eligible for legal aid, we will seek to offer you a ‘no win, no fee’ agreement.
We also work with charities and organisations in strategic cases seeking wider changes in the law:
- Right to rent – our client JCWI is challenging the government’s requirement for tenants to prove their ‘right to rent’ to landlords, arguing that the policy leads to unlawful discrimination.
- G4S contract – our client Bail for Immigration Detainees challenged the refusal to designate G4S a high risk supplier, after footage of mistreatment in Brook House IRC came to light.
We are recognised as leading solicitors for this type of work by both independent legal directories in the UK (Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners).
News and blogs
Home Office must work harder for cultural change, Windrush review finds
Wendy Williams’ Windrush progress review, published Thursday 31 March 2022, says the Home Office must make far more progress in order to become more inclusive.
European Court of Human Rights asked to consider ‘right to rent’ challenge
A new challenge against the UK’s Right to Rent legislation has been taken to the European Court of Human Rights. The legislation has been a key plank of the government’s ‘Hostile Environment’, which has been found to cause racial discrimination by two court rulings.
Unlawful immigration detention: latest Supreme Court ruling has wide-ranging implications
Waleed Sheikh, from the human rights team, and Claire Powell, from the employment and discrimination team, discuss the recent Supreme Court decision in R (DN (Rwanda)) v Secretary of State for the Home Department and its implications for others in a similar situation.
Supreme Court confirms Home Office falsely imprisoned people by imposing unlawful curfews
Human rights solicitor Stephanie Hill discusses the recent Supreme Court judgment in R (on the application of) Jalloh v Secretary of State for the Home Department, and its impact for those subjected to curfews under immigration law.