UK
By DAVID BARRETT HOME AFFAIRS EDITOR and KATHERINE LAWTON
2 May 2024
The latest in a long line of legal challenges was launched against the Rwanda policy tonight by a civil service union, who claimed its members could be breaking international law if they implement the scheme.
The first migrants earmarked for removal to Rwanda were detained on Wednesday.
The dramatic immigration raids were a major boost for Rishi Sunak as millions of voters head to the polls in Thursday's local elections.
Images showed handcuffed migrants being placed in prison-style vans following an undisclosed number of arrests nationwide. Further operations are planned.
Detainees will get legal aid to potentially challenge their inclusion in the scheme.
Other legal challenges are also expected, and on Wednesday night the FDA union, which represents senior civil servants, lodged an application for judicial review. The union said it was concerned Home Office civil servants could be in breach of international law as they implement the Safety of Rwanda Act.
The legislation gives ministers the ability to ignore late-night 'pyjama injunctions' issued by Strasbourg's European Court of Human Rights. FDA general secretary Dave Penman said: 'The Government has had plenty of time to include an explicit provision in the Act regarding breaking international law commitments which would have resolved this, but it chose not to.
The first illegal migrants set to be removed to Rwanda have now been detained
Operational teams within the Home Office have been working at pace to detain individuals
Labour MP demands Rwanda policy should be scrapped immediately
'Civil servants should never be left in a position where they are conflicted between the instructions of ministers and adhering to the civil service code, yet that is exactly what the Government has chosen to do. Faced with a Government that is prepared to act in this cowardly, reckless way, it is left to the FDA to defend our members and the integrity of the civil service.'
The raids were the first concrete sign that the £500million Rwanda scheme could finally take off after years in limbo.
READ MORE:
More Rwanda raids are coming, promise Home Office after up to 20 illegal migrants are detained in dawn arrests for deportation - as union says it has launched a judicial review into the controversial bill
But on Wednesday night the latest in a long line of legal challenges was launched against the Rwanda policy by a civil service union. It claimed its members could be forced to break international law.
Home Secretary James Cleverly said immigration teams were 'working at pace to swiftly detain those who have no right to be here' so removals flights can get off the ground.
The Home Office said the Rwanda removals programme, code-named Operation Vector, began on Monday lunchtime and will involve 800 uniformed officers from its Immigration Enforcement unit.
Migrants arrested at their shabby properties had earlier failed to attend appointments at immigration offices, it is understood.
A Home Office spokesman said the detentions were 'another milestone' toward the Government's pledge to bring in the Rwanda scheme and 'stop the boats'.
Photos showed immigration teams were equipped with battering rams but the equipment was not needed, sources said, and Operation Vector was described as 'fairly peaceful' with very little resistance. However protest groups have carried out a series of demonstrations outside Immigration Enforcement premises in Salford, Croydon, Swansea and Solihull this week, with at least ten arrests.
A source close to the Home Secretary said: 'During the detention operations ahead of getting flights to Rwanda there have been incidents of people trying to disrupt lawful enforcement operations. Police have arrested people involved and helped enforcement officers perform their duties unhindered.
But on Wednesday night the latest in a long line of legal challenges was launched against the Rwanda policy by a civil service union. It claimed its members could be forced to break international law.
Home Secretary James Cleverly said immigration teams were 'working at pace to swiftly detain those who have no right to be here' so removals flights can get off the ground.
The Home Office said the Rwanda removals programme, code-named Operation Vector, began on Monday lunchtime and will involve 800 uniformed officers from its Immigration Enforcement unit.
Migrants arrested at their shabby properties had earlier failed to attend appointments at immigration offices, it is understood.
A Home Office spokesman said the detentions were 'another milestone' toward the Government's pledge to bring in the Rwanda scheme and 'stop the boats'.
Photos showed immigration teams were equipped with battering rams but the equipment was not needed, sources said, and Operation Vector was described as 'fairly peaceful' with very little resistance. However protest groups have carried out a series of demonstrations outside Immigration Enforcement premises in Salford, Croydon, Swansea and Solihull this week, with at least ten arrests.
A source close to the Home Secretary said: 'During the detention operations ahead of getting flights to Rwanda there have been incidents of people trying to disrupt lawful enforcement operations. Police have arrested people involved and helped enforcement officers perform their duties unhindered.
The Home Office yesterday confirmed there were 268 arrivals across the Channel by small boat on Tuesday
The dramatic immigration raids were a major boost for Rishi Sunak as millions of voters head to the polls in Wednesday's local elections
'Attempts to disrupt this detention activity will be dealt with because the principle has to be: mobs don't decide who can or cannot stay in the UK and the only people who would welcome it if they did are criminal smuggling gangs.'
Mr Cleverly said: 'Our Rwanda partnership is a pioneering response to the global challenge of illegal migration, and we have worked tirelessly to introduce new, robust legislation to deliver it.'
Eddy Montgomery, Home Office director of enforcement, added: 'Our specialist operational teams are highly trained and fully equipped to carry out the necessary enforcement activity at pace and in the safest way possible. It is vital that operational detail is kept to a minimum, to protect colleagues involved and those being detained, as well as ensuring we can deliver this large-scale operation as quickly as possible.'
READ MORE: First asylum-seeker is deported to Rwanda under Rishi Sunak's migrant crackdown: African man is handed £3k of taxpayers' money and flown to Kigali after losing bid to stay in Britain
Migrants detained this week have been taken to Home Office immigration removal centres where they will await allocation to a Rwanda flight. It means they will be in detention for between nine and 11 weeks until the first take-off, which Mr Sunak has indicated will be in mid-July.
Officials 'fully expect' that detainees held this week will apply for bail, most likely after being in the centres for four weeks.
If bail is granted they will be placed under enhanced conditions in a bid to avoid them absconding, it is understood.
Officials have insisted they have 'robust' measures in place to trace anyone who tries to flee. Ahead of the scheme's roll-out, the Home Office has increased the capacity of detention centres to more than 2,200 beds, put 200 caseworkers in place to quickly process claims and trained 500 escorts to accompany migrants on the flights.
The Safety of Rwanda Act became law on April 25 after a long and fraught passage through Parliament. Along with a new treaty with Kigali, ministers believe they have overcome legal objections raised about the policy by the Supreme Court last November. It emerged earlier this week that one African migrant has already left the UK for Rwanda under a separate voluntary scheme. He will receive up to £3,000 plus a five-year support package.
The Home Office yesterday confirmed there were 268 arrivals across the Channel by small boat on Tuesday. The running total since the start of the year is now 7,567, up 22 per cent on the same period last year.
FDA union general secretary Dave Penman confirmed it had launched a judicial review of the Rwanda bill
More than 7,000 migrants have already crossed the Channel so far this year in small boats
Migrants seen arriving at Dover as Rwanda crackdown gets underway
The Home Office is poised to launch more raids in a bid to round up migrants it wants to deport to Rwanda after a series of dawn arrests this week.
Up to 20 illegal migrants were detained in the UK-wide operation, which saw immigration officials take people, including women, into custody.
The Government department has refused to release many details about the arrests, but has suggested that more raids could happen as part of the 'large-scale operation'.
It said that it intends to get planes to the east African country underway in 'the next 9 to 11 weeks', after the Safety of Rwanda Act became law last week following a troubled journey through Parliament.
James Cleverly has hailed the start of the operation as 'a pioneering response to the global challenge of illegal migration'.
It comes amid the FDA union launching a judicial review into the Rwanda bill as it accused the government of being 'cowardly' and 'reckless' for 'ignoring legal conflicts for civil servants'.
The Home Secretary said: 'Our Rwanda Partnership is a pioneering response to the global challenge of illegal migration, and we have worked tirelessly to introduce new, robust legislation to deliver it.
'Our dedicated enforcement teams are working at pace to swiftly detain those who have no right to be here so we can get flights off the ground.
The action is a part of the plan to deliver flights to Rwanda in the next nine to 11 weeks. Pictured: A flight to Rwanda in 2022
Last year, there were 67,337 asylum applications to the UK. Of those, 29,437 came from people who arrived in small boats. The Government claims the Rwanda scheme will act as a deterrent, however it only has the capacity to send 200 people a year to the East African country
The Hope Hostel in Rwanda (pictured) is one of the locations migrants will be sent to
'This is a complex piece of work, but we remain absolutely committed to operationalising the policy, to stop the boats and break the business model of people smuggling gangs.'
Union FDA announced it had launched a judicial review of the Safety of Rwanda Act.
Its general secretary, Dave Penman, said they weren't prepared 'to shy away from it as we must protect the interests of our members and the integrity of the Civil Service Code'.
He said: 'This is not a decision that we have taken lightly. The government has had plenty of time to include an explicit provision in the Act regarding breaking international law commitments which would have resolved this, but it chose not to.
'Civil servants should never be left in a position where they are conflicted between the instructions of ministers and adhering to the Civil Service Code, yet that is exactly what the government has chosen to do.
'This is not an accident, or down to poor drafting. It's a political choice from the government, made not for the good of the country but to avoid upsetting either of the warring factions within its own party.
'It's also irresponsible. Those seeking to undermine the integrity and impartiality of the civil service have seized on the difficulties the government has had in implementing this policy, to accuse civil servants of acting politically.'
Enforcement action is said to have taken place throughout the UK - in England, Wales and Scotland as well as Northern Ireland - since midday on Monday.
Children are not expected to be detained as part of the operations.
Home Office Director of Enforcement Eddy Montgomery said: 'Our specialist operational teams are highly trained and fully equipped to carry out the necessary enforcement activity at pace and in the safest way possible.
'It is vital that operational detail is kept to a minimum, to protect colleagues involved and those being detained, as well as ensuring we can deliver this large-scale operation as quickly as possible.'
It is not known at this stage how many people have been held in total.
The Safety of Rwanda Act became law on April 25 and, along with a new treaty with Rwanda, ministers believe they have overcome legal objections raised about the policy by the Supreme Court last November.
First migrants set to be deported from UK to Rwanda detained
The UK home office faced questions over its ability to track down thousands people it had earmarked for removal to Rwanda
Downing Street denied decisions to detain asylum seekers were connected to the upcoming local elections. UK home pffice/PA
WED, 01 MAY, 2024 -
FLORA THOMPSON, CHRISTOPHER MCKEON AND DAVID LYNCH, PA
The first migrants set to be deported to Rwanda have been detained.
The UK home office said a series of operations took place across the country over the last few days, with more activity due to be carried out in the coming weeks.
It comes amid the UK government’s bid to get flights to send migrants to the east African nation off the ground by July, after the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Act became law last week.
The announcement was made after figures showed Channel crossings had reached another record high and ahead of what is expected to be a testing set of local and mayoral elections for Rishi Sunak across England and Wales, in which his Conservatives are likely to suffer heavy losses.
The UK home office faced questions over its ability to track down thousands people it had earmarked for removal to Rwanda
Downing Street denied decisions to detain asylum seekers were connected to the upcoming local elections. UK home pffice/PA
WED, 01 MAY, 2024 -
FLORA THOMPSON, CHRISTOPHER MCKEON AND DAVID LYNCH, PA
The first migrants set to be deported to Rwanda have been detained.
The UK home office said a series of operations took place across the country over the last few days, with more activity due to be carried out in the coming weeks.
It comes amid the UK government’s bid to get flights to send migrants to the east African nation off the ground by July, after the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Act became law last week.
The announcement was made after figures showed Channel crossings had reached another record high and ahead of what is expected to be a testing set of local and mayoral elections for Rishi Sunak across England and Wales, in which his Conservatives are likely to suffer heavy losses.
(PA Graphics)
The home office faced questions over its ability to track down thousands people it had earmarked for removal to Rwanda.
According to a UK government document released this week, only 2,143 out of the 5,700 people identified for removal to Rwanda “continue to report to the Home Office and can be located for detention”.
Published on the home office website on Monday, the document also acknowledges there could be further delays to deportations caused by MPs making last-minute representations to suspend removals.
Officials have not yet said how many people have been detained, or where they were taken into custody.
Home office director of enforcement Eddy Montgomery said it was “vital that operational detail is kept to a minimum, to protect colleagues involved and those being detained, as well as ensuring we can deliver this large-scale operation as quickly as possible”.
Meanwhile there have been reports a failed asylum seeker has become the first to volunteer to be sent to Rwanda after being offered £3,000 to do so, prompting criticism from political opponents.
A Labour Party source said: “Is there any more blatant sign that (former immigration minister Robert) Jenrick was right about this all being symbolic before an election than this mad flurry of stories?
“The core substance though hasn’t changed. This is a tiny scheme at an extortionate cost and the criminal gangs will see through this con.”
Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, said: “Instead of headline-grabbing schemes that will waste time and resources and are unleashing even more human misery, we need a fair and controlled asylum system. The government must focus on processing asylum claims efficiently and fairly.”
Downing Street denied decisions to detain asylum seekers were connected to the upcoming local elections.
Mr Sunak's press secretary said: “From our part there isn’t really a day to lose when people are dying in the Channel having been induced into boats by gangs.
“People are ultimately breaking into our country so of course we want to get moving as rapidly as possible and the PM has always been consistent that he would move as quickly as he could.”
The man, who has not been named, is understood to have accepted the offer under the voluntary scheme some weeks ago and is now in Kigali, with the Sun reporting his flight left on Monday evening.
The home office faced questions over its ability to track down thousands people it had earmarked for removal to Rwanda.
According to a UK government document released this week, only 2,143 out of the 5,700 people identified for removal to Rwanda “continue to report to the Home Office and can be located for detention”.
Published on the home office website on Monday, the document also acknowledges there could be further delays to deportations caused by MPs making last-minute representations to suspend removals.
Officials have not yet said how many people have been detained, or where they were taken into custody.
Home office director of enforcement Eddy Montgomery said it was “vital that operational detail is kept to a minimum, to protect colleagues involved and those being detained, as well as ensuring we can deliver this large-scale operation as quickly as possible”.
Meanwhile there have been reports a failed asylum seeker has become the first to volunteer to be sent to Rwanda after being offered £3,000 to do so, prompting criticism from political opponents.
A Labour Party source said: “Is there any more blatant sign that (former immigration minister Robert) Jenrick was right about this all being symbolic before an election than this mad flurry of stories?
“The core substance though hasn’t changed. This is a tiny scheme at an extortionate cost and the criminal gangs will see through this con.”
Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, said: “Instead of headline-grabbing schemes that will waste time and resources and are unleashing even more human misery, we need a fair and controlled asylum system. The government must focus on processing asylum claims efficiently and fairly.”
Downing Street denied decisions to detain asylum seekers were connected to the upcoming local elections.
Mr Sunak's press secretary said: “From our part there isn’t really a day to lose when people are dying in the Channel having been induced into boats by gangs.
“People are ultimately breaking into our country so of course we want to get moving as rapidly as possible and the PM has always been consistent that he would move as quickly as he could.”
The man, who has not been named, is understood to have accepted the offer under the voluntary scheme some weeks ago and is now in Kigali, with the Sun reporting his flight left on Monday evening.
(PA Graphics)
The policy, expanded to include Rwanda earlier this year, is separate from the Government’s plan to deport migrants arriving in the UK after crossing the Channel.
UK business and trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch told Times Radio this news should be “trumpeted” and demonstrated Rwanda was safe.
The British government’s plan to give migrants a one-way ticket to Kigali – in a bid to deter others from crossing the Channel – is yet to be tested, with the latest legislation aimed at making it legally sound having passed into law just days ago.
Mr Sunak last week said it will take between 10 and 12 weeks for deportation flights to Rwanda to begin, meaning they will not start until the summer.
Provisional figures show 7,567 people have arrived in the UK so far this year after making the journey.
The policy, expanded to include Rwanda earlier this year, is separate from the Government’s plan to deport migrants arriving in the UK after crossing the Channel.
UK business and trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch told Times Radio this news should be “trumpeted” and demonstrated Rwanda was safe.
The British government’s plan to give migrants a one-way ticket to Kigali – in a bid to deter others from crossing the Channel – is yet to be tested, with the latest legislation aimed at making it legally sound having passed into law just days ago.
Mr Sunak last week said it will take between 10 and 12 weeks for deportation flights to Rwanda to begin, meaning they will not start until the summer.
Provisional figures show 7,567 people have arrived in the UK so far this year after making the journey.
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