An Eritrean national won an 11th-hour bid, on Tuesday, September 16, to stay his planned deportation, in the first legal challenge to the United Kingdom government's new "one in, one out" migrant deal with France. The Eritrean man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had been due to be flown to France on Wednesday at 9:00 am under the nascent scheme.
His case was brought to the High Court under a scheme which assesses victims of slavery and human trafficking. Justice Clive Sheldon ruled, late on Tuesday, that "I am going to grant a short period of interim relief."
Lawyer Sonali Naik, representing the Eritrean man who arrived in the UK in August, told the London court that he faced a "real risk of destitution" if he were sent back to France. She said the case "concerns a trafficking claim," and that her client, who alleged that he has a gunshot wound in his leg, said he was "vulnerable."
The UK Home Office lawyer, Kate Grange, said, in written submissions, that the man could request asylum in France as "no less than two charities had indicated they would provide him with accommodation" if he did so. She said the UK-France deal was an imperative, adding: "Serious injury and death, including of children, from small boat crossings in the English Channel is a grave social and political concern." In 2024, some 78 people died during dangerous Channel crossings.
Under the deal which came into force in early August, the UK can return irregular migrants who crossed the Channel if they are deemed ineligible for asylum. This would include those who have passed through a "safe country" to reach the UK, according to a Home Office fact sheet. In return, London will accept an equal number of migrants from France, who can apply for a visa to enter the UK via an online platform under the pilot set to run until June 2026.
Deportations from the UK under the deal were set to begin at the start of this week, with no date confirmed, according to French sources. The scheme has been put in place to try to stem the flow of irregular migrants arriving in the UK on small boats across the Channel from France.
A Downing Street spokesperson had confirmed on Tuesday that the first deportations were due "imminently," but refused to reveal any operational details.
Around 92 migrants who recently arrived on small boats have been detained prior to deportation to France, according to charities, with at least seven informed they would be sent back in the coming days. According to UK media reports, two planes which had been due to fly the first such migrants to France took off without any on board this week.
Like previous UK administrations, Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Labour government has so far struggled to control or deter the thousands of migrants arriving to UK shores, with over 31,000 crossing in small boats this year.