First migrants told: You’ll be off to Rwanda in a fortnight
SCORES of Channel migrants will be sent to Rwanda in a fortnight on the first deportation flight under the controversial deal, Priti Patel announced last night.
The Home Secretary issued formal notices to the first group selected for the government charter flight, which will leave for East Africa on June 14.
The Home Office is now braced for an avalanche of legal challenges from more than 100 migrants – most of whom arrived in the UK aboard small boats from northern France.
All those being selected for the removals flight are currently being held in immigration detention centres to avoid them absconding, the Daily Mail understands.
Sources said officials are expecting the number of migrants who are selected for the flight to drop sharply as legal action begins in earnest.
The asylum deal – dubbed the ‘migration and economic development partnership’ – was signed in April with an initial £120million cost for the British taxpayer.
Last night Miss Patel said the announcement was a ‘critical step’ towards delivering the ‘world-leading partnership with Rwanda’.
She added: ‘While we know attempts will now be made to frustrate the process and delay removals, I will not be deterred and remain fully committed to delivering what the British public expect.’ Up to 100 migrants had already received ‘notices of intent’ from the Home Office last month – with more due in the next few days.
Migrants then have seven days to lodge initial appeals. If those are declined by the Home Office, the next legal step is to issue ‘removal direction letters’ – a process that began yesterday. Migrants then have five days to lodge further appeals to the Home Office.
After that, they could go to the courts to seek a judicial review or another form of litigation.
A government source said: ‘I think we can expect legal challenges pretty much across the board.
‘But some of the migrants selected for the Rwanda flight will find it very difficult to challenge. That is why we expect they will attempt to challenge the policy as a whole.’
Another source said the number of people given removal direction letters will be ‘over 100 in the long run’. But they added: ‘People will drop out and we just don’t know what the final number will be at this stage.’
A series of legal challenges have already been launched including one from campaign group Freedom from Torture.
It came as a controversial plan to house up to 1,500 male asylum seekers at a former RAF base was thrown into doubt. A Home Office official said ‘no final decision’ had been made on the plan at the site in Linton-on-Ouse, North Yorkshire, amid threats of legal action from the local council.
‘Expect challenges across the board’