First Migrant Deported to France Under UK-France Returns Agreement
Paris - The first migrant has been deported to France under the recently established UK-France agreement aimed at deterring small boat crossings of the English Channel. An indian national was removed from the UK on Thursday morning via an Air France flight, confirmed by the UK Home Office.
The deportation comes a little over a month after the two countries agreed to a year-long pilot scheme involving a “one in one out” exchange of migrants. Under the agreement, for each migrant the UK returns to France, another migrant with a strong asylum claim will be allowed to enter the UK.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood stated, “This is an vital first step to securing our borders.”
The UK government is also preparing to appeal a High Court decision that temporarily blocked the deportation of an Eritrean man who claimed to be a victim of modern slavery shortly before his scheduled flight. Mahmood previously vowed to challenge “vexatious, last-minute claims.”
The Home Office anticipates further deportation flights throughout next week and expects the first arrivals from France under the new asylum route to arrive in the UK in the coming days.
“The UK will always play its part in helping those genuinely fleeing persecution, but this must be done through safe, legal, and managed routes – not dangerous crossings,” the Home Office added.
however, the policy has drawn criticism. eleanor Lyons, the UK’s autonomous anti-slavery commissioner, expressed “deep concern” over the Home Secretary’s comments regarding abuse of the system, stating it could provide “a tool for traffickers to use with those victims that they are exploiting.”
