Dr Paul Hamilton

My friend and frequent Kingston Shakespeare collaborator, Dr Paul Hamilton (a US citizen), was arrested on the afternoon of January 17, 2016 at his home in Stratford-upon-Avon by the West Midlands immigration team from Sanford House in Solihull. He was eventually taken to the Morton Hall Immigration Removal Centre near Lincoln, where he is still being held.

Two reasons were given for Dr Hamilton’s arrest: firstly, removal from the UK was imminent (he was later notified that he needs to leave the country by February 1, 2016); secondly, he does not have enough close ties (‘family or friends’; the arresting officer underlined ‘family’) to make it likely that he will stay in one place.

There are many things wrong with this situation but let us focus on three central issues.

First, Dr Hamilton was not illegally in the country. He had applied to the Home Office for…