END DETENTION ON THE GROUNDS OF PUBLIC ORDER AND NATIONAL SECURITY ‘Public order’ and ‘national security’ are vague legal terms. Decisions of detention issued on these grounds often just repeat the wording of the law and do not justify detention after a specific assessment of an individual applicant’s case. Any threat to public order should be based on a specific accusation addressed to the applicant by the competent judicial authorities. END DETENTION OF CHILDREN Administrative detention for children is unacceptable. It is not in the best interests of the child and is thus always a disproportionate measure. The legislative abolition of protective custody is to be welcomed, but its full implementation is still pending. Police stations, Pre-Removal Centres and other places of detention should be explicitly defined as unacceptable in which to detain children. Ending the detention of children also means that their parents (where they have custody) are not detained. END DETENTION IN POLICE STATIONS There should be no administrative detention in police stations for migrants. Police stations are places for individuals suspected of committing a crime. Police cells are designed for holding people for very short periods of time, and do not provide conditions that respect human dignity. END DETENTION IN CASES WHERE THERE IS NO REAL AND IMMEDIATE POSSIBILITY OF REMOVAL Given the COVID-19-related restrictions on returns by Turkey (and possibly other countries), which show no signs of being lifted, thousands of asylum seekers will be unable to be returned any time soon. In this context, it is unreasonable to insist on generalized detention, as its purpose – to ensure that the return or deportation goes ahead – cannot be fulfilled. It is not only inhumane, but also contravenes national and EU legislation to impose a measure of deprivation of personal liberty for a considerable duration with no prospect of removal (return or deportation). Detention – even when imposed as a last resort – should serve a stated goal. When this is not the case, it lacks any legitimacy. 25