LONDON

More than 400 immigrants are being held “illegally” in deportation centers across the UK, the BBC revealed on Wednesday, December 21, based on accessible emails from the Ministry of Home Affairs.

The email indicated that the men’s detention was “no longer lawful” and they should be moved “to a hotel as soon as possible”.

The detention center was used to house hundreds of migrants, which the correspondence described as “surplus” stemming from the Manston migrant processing facility, a former military base in the city of Kentish, which closed after human rights organizations criticized conditions there.

“The email was sent on 4 November, the day after Interior Minister Suella Braverman visited Manston amid pressure to control overcrowding at the site,” the BBC said.

See also: Four people die after migrant boat capsizes in the English Channel

The Home Office reportedly said the large influx of small boat arrivals was putting “immense stress” on the asylum system.

Asylum seekers arriving in the UK are held in processing centers for 24 hours, after which they are sent to hotels.

The ministry said it had a legal obligation to take in asylum seekers who were doomed to poverty, and officials had been working “tirelessly to move people to hotels or other accommodations as quickly as possible”.

Office of Labor spokeswoman Yvette Cooper said the email “demonstrates that the Home Office knew they were breaking the law and shows how their chaotic lack of planning led to this situation.”

“Under (Braverman’s) leadership, the Home Office has lost control of the system and has the potential to incur substantial legal costs for taxpayers,” he added.

The disclosure comes amid controversy over Britain’s policy of sending asylum seekers to Rwanda.

*Aicha Sandoval Alaguna contributed to writing this note.

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