With Campsfield Immigration Removal Centre near Kidlington reportedly reopening today (Wednesday, December 3), Asylum Welcome has launched a public appeal.
The charity is piloting a three-month visiting service so that people are not left completely isolated and forgotten and is asking for support.
READ MORE: Asylum seekers arrival TODAY at reopening detention centre sparks protests
Dr Hari Reed, joint chief executive of Asylum Welcome, said: “As the first detainees arrive at Campsfield, we feel deeply sorry that people are once again being locked up in a system that causes profound harm.”
Asylum Welcome previously sent trained volunteers to the centre, prior to its closure in 2018, and this latest scheme will build on that experience.
From January to March 2026, Asylum Welcome staff and trained volunteers will offer regular visits, providing listening support and practical signposting to those who have no one else to support them.
There have been many protests outside the immigration detention centre over the years (Image: Keep Campsfield Closed)
“As none of this should be happening, our presence is not about making detention acceptable,” Dr Reed said.
“It is about refusing to look away while people are harmed and standing in solidarity with those forced to endure a system that strips them of control, stability and hope.”
Asylum Welcome is fundraising for this visiting service to continue beyond the three-month pilot and anyone wishing to support it can donate via Asylum Welcome’s JustGiving campaign.
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Pilo Moreno, musician and former Campsfield detainee, said: “That place is designed to take your humanity away…
“Every day, little by little, you lose something of yourself, and it’s designed for that. And in that kind of situation, a spark of empathy makes the difference.”
The reopening of the detention centre has been marked with protests at the site and in central Oxford.