More than 100 protesters gathered outside Brighton Town Hall on Tuesday to oppose the reopening of a Home Office hotel in Hove where 139 unaccompanied asylum-seeking children have gone missing since July 2021. Brighton and Hove City Council is planning legal action against the Home Office over the decision to reopen the hotel.
Campaign group Homes Not Hotels is demanding that the Home Office treat unaccompanied asylum-seeking children the same as other children in need of protection and provide adequate funding for councils. The group also insists that if the hotel reopens, no child should stay there longer than 24 hours.
Social worker Lauren Starkey, from Homes Not Hotels, said children in such hotels face neglectful conditions, including insufficient food and lack of proper healthcare. She added that government messaging about sending asylum seekers to Rwanda makes children fearful and more vulnerable to traffickers.
A Home Office spokesperson said the use of hotels is necessary due to the rise in dangerous small boat crossings, and stressed that child wellbeing is an absolute priority with 24/7 security at every hotel. The borders and immigration watchdog found in October last year that young people in such accommodation reported feeling safe and treated with respect.
Sussex Police confirmed that 139 young people went missing from Hove since July 2021, with 90 found. Across Sussex, a total of 227 children have been reported missing in Hove and Eastbourne, with 141 located. The force has a dedicated unit focusing on finding missing unaccompanied asylum-seeking children.
