Campaigners have rallied against the government’s “disgusting” policy of sending some migrants to Rwanda in a series of protests across the UK.
Protests were due to take place in Cambridge, Cardiff, Coventry, Leeds, Manchester, Oxford and Sheffield, according to refugee charity Care4Calais.
Pictures posted on social media on Saturday showed people protesting outside the Brook House Immigration Removal Centre, next to Gatwick Airport, and the Colnbrook Immigration Removal Centre, near Heathrow Airport.
John McDonnell, the Labor MP for Hayes and Harlington, who spoke at the rally outside Colnbrook immigration removal centre, wrote on Twitter: “I joined the demonstration outside Harmondsworth detention center in my constituency against the appalling government policy of sending asylum seekers to Rwanda and detaining them.
“Let’s make it clear that asylum seekers are welcome here.”
The demonstrations were called as part of the StopRwanda campaign launched by the Trade Union Congress, Care4Calais and Stand Up To Racism.
Claire Moseley, Chief Executive of Care4Calais, said: “We know that many people are opposed to the shockingly brutal plan for Rwanda and we are delighted to see the voices of so many being heard today.
“We have seen up close the human cost of locking people up and telling them they will be sent to Rwanda. From suicide attempts to hunger strikes, it was harrowing. We now have six weeks to show the government that this cruel plan is not what the British public want.
The campaign is backed by 11 unions, including the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) – which represents more than 80% of Border Force staff, refugee rights organizations and faith groups.
Labor MP John McDonnell called on protesters outside the Colnbrook Immigration Removal Center to “make it clear that asylum seekers are welcome here”. Photo: Nick Dearden
In April, Home Secretary Priti Patel signed what she called a “world first” deal to send migrants believed to have arrived in the UK illegally to Rwanda.
The first deportation flight – due to take off on June 15 – was canceled with the plane on the runway at Salisbury following the intervention of the European Court of Human Rights following a series of legal challenges by those on board.
A judicial review of the plan was due to be heard on July 19, but charities including Care4Calais and Detention Action – which are bringing the case – said the hearing has been postponed until September.
Mark Serwotka, general secretary of PCS, said: “It is time for the Government to show humanity to the people who come to our shores for asylum and start getting serious about fixing the asylum system so that refugees are treated fairly and according to law.”
Wayman Bennett, co-director of Stand Up To Racism, said: “[Boris] Johnson, Patel and the government – and we know every candidate in the Tory leadership race supports the abhorrent detention policy in Rwanda – are hell-bent, despite the incredible growth of an anti-racist movement as a result of the #BlackLivesMatter movement and the opposition to racism, to reinforce their racist hostile environment for refugees and migrants and make people in the most desperate situations seeking salvation become scapegoats for a crisis and attacks on living standards that they did nothing to cause.
“We must keep up the pressure, we can stop offshore detention in Rwanda and make the Nationality and Borders Act unenforceable, but that will mean a mass campaign, it will mean escalating protests and it is vital that unions take this fight into workplaces everywhere and into the streets .
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“We are organizing to prepare in every area for this kind of response to the Home Office and its attacks on our neighbours.”
A Home Office spokesman said: “We remain committed to our world-leading migration partnership with Rwanda, which will see those who arrive dangerously, illegally or unnecessarily in the UK resettled to rebuild their lives there.
“This is vital to prevent the loss of life in the Channel and to disrupt the business model of people traffickers.
“The Government’s new immigration plan is the most comprehensive reform of the asylum system and the Nationality and Borders Act will speed up the removal of those who have no right to be here, preventing abuse and deterring illegal entry into the UK.”
Additional demonstrations are planned for Sunday.
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