Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government overcame a legal challenge to its controversial policy to begin deporting asylum seekers to Rwanda when the High Court dismissed attempts by migrants and activists to obtain a court order. And he gave the green light for the first flight to leave next week.
Lawyers representing two of the affected migrants began the legal claim earlier this week that the London court assessed on Friday, while another hundred people have also launched legal actions through charities and a union.
Judge Jonathan Swift on Friday refused to block the deportation of Iraqi and Syrian asylum seekers and denied an injunction to ban the first flight to Rwanda.
Raza Husain, on behalf of the plaintiffs, argued before the court today that the procedure "is not safe" for those he represents and criticized the "arbitrariness" of the process.
Justice Swift, on the other hand, considered it "balanced" to extend a "generic exemption" to migrants who are going to be sent to a center in Rwanda. He said some of the risks faced by deported asylum seekers described by the charities were small and "in the realm of speculation". Still, the case is expected to go to the Court of Appeal on Monday.
The Executive has already notified about 130 immigrants that it has started the deportation process. And next Tuesday he has chartered a first flight in which he wants to transfer 31 people to the African country, although during the hearing on Friday, the government canceled the immediate deportation of at least five people.
Home Secretary Priti Patel maintains that her plans will discourage migrants from arriving in the UK across the English Channel in small boats, although more than 3,500 people have arrived on British soil in small boats since mid-April, when Rwanda's plan was unveiled, according to government figures.
In November, 27 people drowned in the Channel when their small rubber dinghy deflated, and many others had to be rescued from the narrow seaway, one of the world's busiest shipping lanes. Under the government's scheme, anyone who has arrived in the country by means considered "illegal" since January 1 can be transferred to the African country. Once there, their application will be assessed and, if accepted, they will be offered long-term accommodation in Rwanda.
Rose Hudson-Wilkin, a senior Church of England leader based in Dover, where many of the migrants arrived, said she was "deeply ashamed" by the court's decision. "She's inhuman," she lamented.
Around 30 asylum seekers have been selected for removal. During Friday's hearing, the government agreed to drop the immediate deportation of at least five other people.
