Dungavel has become a byword for some of the most "frightening" aspects of seeking asylum in the UK, according to a refugee support group who welcomed its planned closure.
Human-rights organisations and politicians also gave the announcement their approval while voicing concerns about the facility that will replace the centre next year.
The Home Office decision prompted calls by some for an end to long-term detention in the UK altogether.
READ MORE: Dungavel immigration detention centre to close next year, Home Office announces
David Bradwell, from the Scottish Faiths Action for Refugees, said: "Dungavel has become a byword in Scotland for some of the most frightening aspects of seeking asylum in the UK.
"News of its closure will be welcomed by many but there remains a question as to what replaces it and how a new system will operate.
"I fear that one of the consequences of the closure of Dungavel and its replacement will mean that people who have been seeking asylum in Scotland, and who are detained by the Home Office for more than a week, will be locked up in centres hundreds of miles away.
READ MORE: Dungavel immigration detention centre to close next year, Home Office announces
"This will make visits from friends much harder and much more expensive."
Naomi McAuliffe, from Amnesty International, said: "We welcome the planned closure of Dungavel but we don't want to see the very serious consequences of detention being shifted to another location.
"Robert Goodwill's remarks focus on the fact that the new 'holding facility' is near Glasgow Airport and will 'save money'.
"The reality is that indefinite detention is expensive, ineffective and extremely harmful to many of the people held.
"Any plans for a new facility must take into account the rights of the people who will be held there."
READ MORE: Dungavel immigration detention centre to close next year, Home Office announces
Rachel Robinson, from Liberty, said: "The closure of Dungavel is an important milestone on the road to a more humane and compassionate immigration system.
"It's also a triumph for the taxpayer, who picks up the tab for one of Europe's largest detention estates.
"But the government's intention to create a new centre is a reminder of how far we are from putting an end to this brutal stain on our national conscience."
Gary Christie, from the Scottish Refugee Council, said: "We want swift assurances from the Home Office that men and women who would have been detained in Dungavel in Scotland will not now simply be moved indiscriminately to other detention facilities in other parts of the UK.
"We know that being moved around the UK has an impact on people's ability to access legal advice as Scottish solicitors cannot represent people if they are moved away to centres in England.
"Loneliness and isolation put people's health and wellbeing at further risk, and this will only worsen if people are moved away from their support networks."
READ MORE: Dungavel immigration detention centre to close next year, Home Office announces
Liberal Democrat MP Alistair Carmichael said the closure of Dungavel does not change the need for the UK Government to introduce a "fair and humane" immigration system.
The party's home affairs spokesman said: "No-one will miss Dungavel when it is closed. It was an inappropriate environment in which to keep people who were due to be deported. This was especially true of children.
"Ending the detention of children for immigration purposes at Dungavel was one of the first actions taken by Lib Dems in government back in 2010.
"A new centre will not tackle underlying concerns over the shameful Tory decision to row back on that by closing the specialist Cedars family unit.
"A new purpose-built facility has been spoken about for some time. It can only be for short-term use. Anything else simply highlights the failure of our immigration and asylum systems."
READ MORE: Dungavel immigration detention centre to close next year, Home Office announces
Green MSP Ross Greer said Dungavel's replacement "should not be a carbon copy" of the original facility.
He said: "The new facility is an opportunity for the UK Government to begin treating these vulnerable people with some dignity and respect.
"We're not holding our breath, however, given that this is the Home Office which paid for disgusting billboards telling refugees and immigrants to 'go home' and which regularly deports people back to situations where they are in clear danger."
SNP MP Stuart McDonald, the party's spokesman on asylum and border control, said: "The decision to move the detention centre does not seem part of a strategy to reduce the number of people being detained but instead seems designed to move detainees as far away as possible from friends and family and beyond the reach of their legal advisers.
"The new short-term facility's location will give the Government easy access to Glasgow Airport and also to airports in London, therefore making it easier for the UK Government to continue its policy of forced removal of migrants who have settled in the UK, and there is a risk that people who have been living in Scotland will have little opportunity to challenge their deportation."
The SNP's Gavin Newlands, MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire North, said: "I have written to the immigration minister to seek a meeting and for urgent clarification on the UK Government's proposals, and assurances on how asylum seekers based in Scotland facing deportation will be treated.
"This decision by the UK Government will undoubtedly have an impact on Renfrewshire, and more widely immigration policy in Scotland. As such, it's vital that we gain as much information as possible from the UK Government."
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