by Andrew MacAskill
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s controversial plan to fly illegal immigrants to Rwanda to Rwanda is risky and irrational, lawyers argued at the High Court in London on Friday.
The British government announced in April an agreement with Kigali to send migrants to stem the flow of asylum seekers crossing the English Channel.
The first flight to Rwanda is scheduled for Tuesday.
Lawyers representing migrants, humanitarian associations and a British Home Office union have asked the court to prevent these deportations, which should initially concern some 130 migrants, mostly from Sudan, Syria, Iraq and Iran.
“The argument advanced by [le gouvernement] that Rwanda offers safe asylum is irrational,” said Raza Hussain, a lawyer representing Care4Calais, Detention Action and PCS, a union representing civil servants in the UK Home Office.
The High Court was expected to rule shortly.
Under the UK plan, anyone who has arrived in Britain illegally since January 1 could be relocated to Rwanda.
(Writing by Michael Holden; French version Dina Kartit, editing by Sophie Louet)
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