Children who are not citizens of the UK are well protected by the law against immigration detention. Once they reach the age of 18, however, they move from a protected to an unprotected status, a policy briefing of the University of Bristol/Gatwick Detainees Welfare Group concludes. Many young adults are not able to secure settled immigration status, but even when they do, they risk automatic deportation orders if they go to prison. Many of them who spent most of their formative years in the UK still end up being detained in Immigration Removal Centres as the government tries to deport them.