Kenmure Street: Home Office vows to deport men who were freed during failed Glasgow immigration raid after protesters descended on the street

On Thursday, May 13, Lakhvir Singh and Sumit Sehdev – who have lived in Scotland for more than 10 years – were detained in a van on Kenmure Street for more than eight hours during an attempt by the Home Office to deport them.

Hundreds of residents gathered in protest and blocked the van from moving – with one man even crawling under the vehicle.

The Times reported that the pair are suspected to have overstayed their visas.

A Home Office source said that “they will still be detained and deported at a later date,” and that they will “continue to tackle illegal immigration and the harm it causes.”

Robina Qureshi, director of charity Positive Action in Housing, said: “We are exploring what legal actions there are to take action against the Home Office.

“It’s wrong to call them illegal — the Home Office is casting aspersions on men from the Indian community.

Lakhvir Singh and Sumit Sehdev are released from the back of an Immigration Enforcement van after last Thursday's failed Home Office raid. (Picture credit: Andrew Milligan/PA)

"They have been living and working peacefully in the community for years and it’s just a matter of not having the right paperwork.

"They are not criminals, they are not costing anybody anything. Detaining them will only rack up a bill for the taxpayer.”

Mr Singh, a mechanic, came to Scotland in 2008 but his visa expired in 2016.

He told the Daily Record: “They said I had overstayed my time here and my visa had expired but I was letting them know that I did not want to go.

Protesters descended on Kenmure Street after Home Office agents attempted to deport two local residents. (Picture credit: Getty Images)

“I’m a part of the society. I have given so much to the community as well, and I do not want to go.”

The Home Office said: “The UK government is tackling illegal immigration and the harm it causes, often to the most vulnerable people, by removing those with no right to be in the UK.

“The operation in Glasgow was conducted in relation to suspected immigration offences, and the two Indian nationals complied with officers."

It added that the new plan for immigration will speed up the removal of those who have entered the UK illegally.

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