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In a significant escalation of immigration enforcement, 44 Nigerians and Ghanaians were deported from the UK on Friday in a single flight, marking the largest removal of this kind to date.
According to The Guardian, the UK Home Office confirmed the deportation as part of its intensified crackdown on illegal immigration. Since the Labour government took power in July, over 3,600 people have been deported. This development follows news of the planned relocation of asylum seekers who arrived at Diego Garcia, a UK-administered island, to Saint Helena, a British territory in the Atlantic Ocean. These asylum seekers, who have been stranded on the island since 2021, are excluded from a new treaty between the UK and Mauritius concerning the Chagos Islands, expected to be signed next year.
While the Diego Garcia arrivals number in the hundreds, they are far fewer compared to the tens of thousands of migrants who have crossed the English Channel in small boats from France. On Friday alone, 647 individuals made the dangerous journey across the Channel, pushing the total for the year past 28,000.
Deportation flights to Nigeria and Ghana have been relatively uncommon, with just four recorded since 2020. Previous flights carried far fewer deportees, ranging from six to 21 people. The latest deportation flight, which removed 44 individuals, more than doubled the number typically seen in such operations.
The Guardian spoke with four Nigerian men held at the Brook House immigration removal center near Gatwick prior to their deportation. One man, who had lived in the UK for 15 years while seeking asylum, voiced his frustration, saying, “I have no criminal record, but the Home Office rejected my claim.” Another individual, who had been a victim of human trafficking and bore torture scars, also had his asylum claim denied.
Fizza Qureshi, chief executive of the Migrants’ Rights Network, criticized the deportations, citing the lack of transparency and legal assistance provided to detainees. She highlighted a detainee’s remark: “The Home Office is playing politics with people’s lives. We’ve done nothing wrong except ask for help.”
However, a Home Office spokesperson defended the deportations, stating that the government remains committed to enforcing immigration laws and ensuring that individuals without legal rights to remain in the UK are returned to their home countries.