First Migrants Detained Under New UK-France Deal, But Legal Challenges Loom .
The first small boat migrants have been detained for removal to France under the new ‘one-in, one-out’ scheme, the Home Office confirmed. The detentions took place after a group of Channel arrivals were brought into Dover.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced that this first group of people would be held in detention facilities, not in taxpayer-funded asylum hotels. This is an important step in sending a message to migrants thinking of paying criminal gangs to cross the Channel. Cooper stated, “No-one should be making this illegal and dangerous journey that undermines our border security and lines the pockets of the criminal gangs.”
The Home Secretary acknowledged that while this is an important step, it will take time to dismantle the criminal gangs that have been operating along the border for years. She added, “These are the early days for this pilot scheme, and it will develop over time. But we are on track to do what no other government has done since this crisis first started – sending small boat arrivals back to France and strengthening our borders through the Plan for Change.”
Legal Challenges Threaten to Delay Removals
Despite the government’s strong messaging, concerns are mounting over the scheme’s ability to actually remove migrants. The new treaty with France has a significant flaw: migrants cannot be sent back if they have an “outstanding human rights claim”. This provision could delay removals for months as legal challenges and appeals are processed.
The Home Office confirmed that some human rights claims would block a migrant’s removal until they have been concluded in full. This includes cases that officials cannot formally “certify” as “clearly unfounded.”
In response, migrant advocacy groups have already begun to coordinate a legal action against the plan, similar to the challenges faced by the previous government’s Rwanda scheme. The Free Movement website, which advises immigration lawyers, noted that while legal challenges may be more difficult than those for the Rwanda scheme, there are still grounds on which people can resist removal to France.
Political Skepticism and Contradictory Statements
The new treaty has also faced criticism from both sides of the political spectrum.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy appeared to contradict the treaty’s terms by stating that migrants sent back under the deal would have their human rights claims heard in France. It later emerged that some human rights claims would, in fact, block the Home Office from removing migrants in the first place.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp also criticized the deal on its first day, posting videos of migrant boats crossing the Channel and suggesting the occupants would soon be “coming to a hotel near you.”
This situation highlights the ongoing tension between the government’s promises to swiftly remove migrants and the complex legal and logistical hurdles of implementing such a policy.
