Asylum seekers should not be deported to Rwanda before the policy is fully tested in the courts, a union leader said, predicting that the first evacuation flight would not take place as planned this week.
The initial deportation flight under the plan to remove people arriving in the UK on informal routes to the East African country is scheduled for Tuesday, after a Supreme Court judge ruled on Friday that it could continue.
Mark Servotka, secretary general of the PCS union, which represents more than 80 percent of border guards, said he hoped an appeal to the Supreme Court on Monday would halt the flight.
He also argued that Interior Minister Priti Patel should not ask officials to implement the policy before its legal position is fully tested.
He told Sophie Ridge of Sky on Sunday’s program: “Imagine if you are now a civil servant who goes to work because you want to see a humane immigration system in which people are treated fairly and we respect our international obligations.
“Imagine if you were told to do something on Tuesday, it would be illegal in July. That would be a horrible situation.
“I mean, if Pretty Patel had any respect, not only for the desperate people who come to this country, but also for the workers she hires, she wouldn’t ask any of them to be part of the deportation of anyone. asylum seeker until at least these cases are heard in court for a full legality ruling in July. “
The judge at Friday’s hearing, Judge Swift, refused to grant “interim measures” following a request for an order from some asylum seekers facing deportation to Rwanda.
The decision will not stop individual refugees from further legal challenges to removing them or judicially reviewing the policy, which Swift said could take six weeks.
PCS was involved in an appeal on Monday. Servotka said there should be a debate not only on the legitimacy of the policy, but also on its ethical basis.
“When people flee Iraq, Iran, Syria or Yemen and come to that country, they flee death, torture and persecution,” he said. “We must welcome the people of this country and treat them in a civilized way and evaluate their cases when they are here.
“We hope to win tomorrow in the Court of Appeals to stop the flight.”
The policy aims to prevent people from using informal routes such as crossing the English Channel in small boats to enter the UK and seek asylum. The number of people doing so has not yet decreased, but Downing Street says the impact will only be seen when the policy is fully implemented and in place.
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Critics say the relatively small number that could be sent to Rwanda will not repel people, and that the fact that people with children will not be deported will simply provide an incentive to take minors on boats.
Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis also defended politics on the Ridge show, while declining to comment on what he called “rumors” of criticism from Prince Charles, who reportedly called the plan “appalling”.
Asked if he was personally comfortable with politics, Lewis said: “Yes, I am.
“The reality is that this is a policy that will provide to ensure that modern slavery and these human smugglers know that their criminal methods will be broken.
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