They Were Laughing at Us’: Protesters Fail to Stop Asylum Seeker’s Deportation to Rwanda

Protesters have scrambled to block the detention of asylum seekers across the UK this week, as the Home Office launched a dramatic crackdown ahead of planned deportation flights to Rwanda. According to The Guardian, the nationwide operation, dubbed “Operation Vector”, has sparked panic and protests among refugee communities.

In a series of raids beginning Monday, immigration enforcement teams have been detaining migrants deemed eligible for removal to the East African nation. Many of those targeted have been in Britain for over a year, awaiting decisions on asylum claims after fleeing war and persecution in countries like Iran, Sudan and Afghanistan.

“There’s just a sense of panic and desperation and people just not knowing why they’ve been detained,” said Tara Wolfe, a barrister with the charity Bail for Immigration Detainees (Bid). As reported by The Guardian, Bid is supporting around 15 people caught up in the crackdown so far.

The Home Office claims to have expanded detention capacity and enlisted 500 “escorts” to facilitate removals. However, the exact number detained remains unclear, with no Rwanda deportation flights having departed yet. One man was reportedly paid £3,000 as part of a voluntary removals scheme.

Forced deportations are not expected until at least July, but the pace of detentions is expected to accelerate rapidly in the coming weeks. The right-wing press has cheered the crackdown, with The Sun proclaiming “There’s no hiding place.”

Refugee charities have condemned the heavy-handed tactics, which have seen people arrested at routine immigration appointments and during raids on homes and hotels. Detention Action said women are among those being held.

“It’s absolutely terrifying. Many of our clients come from a situation where they didn’t know when the knock at the door would be,” said Ann Salter of Freedom from Torture. “It is absolutely recreating that climate of fear.”

There are reports of asylum seekers going into hiding or leaving government accommodation out of fear of being detained. At a hotel in south London’s Elephant and Castle, a youth worker said 10 people were detained, prompting others to flee and “sleep in parks.”

The crackdown has sparked furious resistance from protesters determined to prevent detainees from being taken to removal centers. On Thursday in Peckham, hundreds surrounded a coach intended to transfer asylum seekers, with 45 arrests made after clashes with police.

In other incidents that day, just a handful of activists were unable to stop a van speeding away from an immigration reporting center with a detained asylum seeker on board. “They were fucking laughing at us,” one protester said of the van’s staff.

The government has claimed the Rwanda policy will deter dangerous Channel crossings and disrupt people-smuggling gangs. Over 7,500 migrants have made the perilous journey so far this year, a 27% rise on 2023’s record figures.

However, human rights groups have denounced the plan as unethical and warned it could push asylum seekers into exploitative situations by discouraging them from engaging with authorities.

Natasha Tsangarides of Freedom from Torture said the fear of detention could “push some individuals to go into hiding and disengage from their support systems.”

The Rwanda policy has been beset by legal challenges, with last year’s first attempted deportation flight grounded by a last-minute European Court injunction. A new UK law aims to override previous court rulings by declaring Rwanda a safe third country for asylum processing.

Maggy Moyo of the charity Right to Remain said the crackdown had sown confusion, with some asylum seekers unaware of the Rwanda plan due to “language barriers” and lack of access to news in government housing.

“We had one guy who arrived in 2022. He knew exactly what might happen to him,” Moyo told The Guardian. “He stood there for an hour crying, saying: ‘Should I go in? Or should I just jump and go under the radar?'”

The man, from Eritrea, ultimately attended his appointment but warned he may abscond before his next one. “I’m reporting next week and I’m not sure I will come back,” he said, according to Moyo.

With the first deportations potentially just weeks away, the government’s crackdown looks set to escalate further, raising fears of more heavy-handed scenes and human suffering in the weeks ahead.