Asylum seekers, who must be taken to Rwanda under the Interior Minister’s offshore plan, may be released and marked if a lawsuit delays their flight.
Interior Ministry officials are aware that they cannot detain people indefinitely unless they are sent to the East African country on the first scheduled flight.
An emergency hearing in the Supreme Court challenging Priti Patel’s policy will be held at 10:30 a.m. Friday. He will determine if the first flight can continue on Tuesday on schedule.
Government sources have confirmed that there is a “healthy chance” that Friday’s challenge will be successful, which will delay the charter flight. If this happens, it is understood that the officers are ready to release and mark the detainees at the moment.
The decisions will be made after taking into account the principles of Hardial Singh, which refer to legal precedent, which limits the powers of the Ministry of Interior to detain immigration.
Friday’s hearing comes amid a judicial review by the Union of Public and Commercial Services (PCS), the charity Care4Calais and the Detention Action pressure group, along with four asylum seekers facing deportation in Rwanda.
The case will challenge aspects of the policy uncovered by Boris Johnson, including Patel’s right to make such removals, the rationality of Patel’s claim that Rwanda as a whole is a “safe third country”, the adequacy of malaria prevention regulations in Rwanda, and whether it is in accordance with the Human Rights Act.
Officials also refused to rule out sending Afghans to Rwanda on Tuesday, despite the deteriorating political situation in their home country. The only nationality of the people who will not be taken into account for the new policy is the Rwandans themselves.
Existing government schemes to help Afghan refugees – Afghanistan’s resettlement and assistance policy, launched in April 2021, and the Afghan resettlement scheme – have proved difficult to access, lawmakers said.
It was also announced on Wednesday that Zambia could be the next country to receive asylum seekers from the United Kingdom. The interior ministry declined to say how many people it plans to send to Rwanda on Tuesday or how many people have received letters of intent for other possible flights.
Officials declined to deny allegations that 130 people could be removed next week, but the Guardian was told there were about 30.
The Ministry of the Interior was contacted for comment.
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