Afghan migrants among those whose cases are not being heard, warn peers
Migrants from Afghanistan, Syria and Sudan are among those who have been detained ahead of deportation flights to Rwanda, a charity has said.
Most of the people known to have been detained come from countries from which nearly all asylum seekers have previously been granted safety in the UK. The Home Office did not dispute the claim by Care4Calais.
Crossbench, Labour and Liberal Democrat peers expressed alarm that people who are likely to have well-founded claims for protection in the UK were being denied the opportunity to be processed in Britain.
They also fear that Afghans who worked with the British could be sent to Rwanda.
The Liberal Democrat peer Lord German said he feared some Afghans may fall through the cracks, in part because the Rwanda plan means that the Home Office does not consider people’s case for fleeing.
“If they’re not hearing their cases first… how do they know? There are undoubtedly people falling through the hoop,” he said. “It is a fundamental human right, it seems to me, that people have should have a chance to put their case, and what they’re doing is denying that opportunity not just for the most vulnerable groups of people in the world, but also for those who may have helped the UK armed forces. It is shameful.”
Lord Dubs, a Labour peer and former child refugee, said it was “shocking” that people are now arriving from countries from which most migrants have been granted asylum, only to be detained.
“The Government said that people who have crossed the Channel [are] illegal and therefore they won’t
So far this year, 7,567 people have crossed the Channel, according to Home Office figures up to 30 April. This is a jump of 27 per cent on the same time last year, when 5,946 people had made the crossing. be able to claim asylum... So I find it shocking, but I’m not surprised. We’re denying people who have a well-founded fear of persecution any chance of claiming asylum,” he said.
Crossbench peer Lord Carlile said: “[It] really doesn’t matter where anyone comes from – Rwanda is not yet demonstrably safe.”
“At least some would almost certainly be granted asylum if they were able to apply for it, so there’s been a fundamental denial of legal rights.”
In the year ending December 2023, 99 per cent of people from Afghanistan, Syria and Eritrea were granted asylum, government data show, along with 98 per cent of Sudanese people
It comes as the number of Channel crossings surges, with 711 people making the journey in a single day last week – a record for this year.