"Let them go!": Five years since Glasgow took on the Home Office
Crowds protested on Kenmure Street on May 13th, 2021, after two Sikh men were detained for alleged immigration violations.
Today marks five years since a UK Home Office raid in a Glasgow neighbourhood, which led to one of the most successful acts of civil resistance in recent memory.
At around 9am on May 13th, 2021, immigration officers arrived on Kenmure Street in Pollokshields to undertake a dawn raid. Lakhvir Singh and Sumit Sehdevi - a mechanic and a chef who had lived in Glasgow for years - were taken from their homes and put into the back of an Immigration Enforcement Van. The Home Office said the operation “was conducted in relation to suspected immigration offences”.
Mohammad Asif is a human rights campaigner. He remembers that day "like it was yesterday".
"I was at the local mosque in Scotstoun when my nephew called me and said there was some sort of scuffle going on on Kenmure Street," Mohammad told Clyde 1 news. "I told him to send me a video, and he did, then I made my way here after my Eid prayer."
As word spread in the early morning of what was Eid celebrations for many locals, a handful of protestors swelled to hundreds of people, flooding Kenmure Street and making it impassable to the immigration enforcement van. The vehicle was completely surrounded - with one man even squeezing himself underneath it to prevent it from driving off.
The eight-hour stand-off made national and international headlines, as the community organised itself in an extraordinary act of peaceful solidarity.
Aamer Anwar, lawyer and human rights campaigner, told Clyde 1 news that the anniversary of the Kenmure Street raid is something to be celebrated each year, and hailed as "inspirational."
He said: "It's shown what is possible when one person decides to take action, followed by it growing to tens, then hundreds, then thousands, and when a community comes together in unity. It shows that we can win."
**"We don't accept or tolerate discrimination and racism"**
Dr Pinar Aksu is part of the Maryhill Integration Network, an organisation founded to bring asylum seekers, migrants and refugees together.
She says it's more important than ever to remember Kenmure Street now - as tensions around immigration grow...
Aamer Anwar added: "The words that were continuously used that day were 'these are our neighbours, let them go'. People didn't care which country these individuals came from, many of the people, who were neighbours that came out, had known that the men had lived peacefully within that community and had lived there for some ten years."
**"I'm so proud that the people of Glasgow stood in solidarity"**
Marking five years since the raid took place, a special anniversary screening of a brand-new documentary on the events of that day is being held at Glasgow Film Theatre.
'Everybody to Kenmure Street' has become the second highest-grossing new release in the 52-year history of GFT, as the Glasgow-made documentary continues its record-breaking run in the city.
Following its sold-out Opening Gala at Glasgow Film Festival 2026 and a Special Jury Award win at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, the film has gone on to smash box office records at GFT, where it remains on screen eight weeks after release.
The documentary combines crowd-sourced footage filmed on the day with set designed scenes and archive material.
Tabassum Niamat, who runs a community organisation in Pollokshields, had some of her footage used. She said: “I was one of the first people there when the immigration van arrived, and I began live-streaming what was happening. I stayed until the men were released later that day. Even though I was there, watching the film brought everything back."
Two-time Oscar winner Emma Thompson is among the film’s executive producers.
Thompson said the film “beautifully and powerfully demonstrates the innate and deep decency of our people whilst also highlighting the institutional mannerisms and structures that are the opposite of this”.
“It’s a documentary about what we as society often do not see, but what we can do when we do see it”, she said.
Mohammad Asif said: "The two boys were released because of the city of Glasgow. This is really a proud feeling, and to be here five years later, on the same street...it's just like yesterday. I'm so proud that the people of Glasgow stood in solidarity."
'Everybody to Kenmure Street' is still screening at GFT and in other cinemas around the country. Find screenings at conic.film/kenmurestreet.
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