Activists have spoken out against the government’s “hateful” policy of sending some migrants to Rwanda in a series of protests across the UK.
Protests were planned in Cambridge, Cardiff, Coventry, Leeds, Manchester, Oxford and Sheffield, according to the refugee charity Care4Calais.
Images posted on social media on Saturday showed people protesting in front of the Brook House Immigration Removal Center, at Gatwick Airport, and at the Colnbrook Immigration Exclusion Center, near Heathrow Airport.
John McDonnell, the Labor MP for Hayes and Harlington who spoke during the demonstration in front of the Colnbrook Immigration Removal Center, wrote on Twitter: “He joined the demonstration in front of the Harmondsworth Detention Center in my constituency in opposition to the terrible government policy of sending asylum seekers to Rwanda and detention.
“We make it clear that asylum seekers are welcome here.”
The demonstrations were convened as part of the StopRwanda campaign, promoted by the Trade Union Congress, Care4Calais and Stand Up To Racism.
Clare Moseley, CEO of Care4Calais, said: “We know that many people oppose Rwanda’s surprisingly brutal plan and we are delighted to see so many of them making their voices 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 creepy. We now have six weeks to prove to the government that this cruel plan does not that’s what the British public wants. “
The campaign has the support of 11 unions, including the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), which represents more than 80% of Border Force personnel, refugee rights organizations and religious groups.
Labor MP John McDonnell urged protesters outside the Colnbrook Immigration Removal Center to “make it clear that asylum seekers are welcome here”. Photography: Nick Dearden
In April, Home Secretary Priti Patel signed what she described as a “world first” agreement to send migrants believed to have arrived illegally in the UK in Rwanda.
The first expulsion flight, which was due to take off on 15 June, was canceled by plane on the runway in Salisbury following an intervention by the European Court of Human Rights after a series of ‘legal challenges by those on board.
A court review of the plan was due to be heard on July 19, but charities such as Care4Calais and Detention Action, which are leading the case, said the hearing has been postponed until September.
Mark Serwotka, general secretary of the PCS, said: “It is time for the government to show humanity to the people who come to our shores to take refuge and start seriously committing to the resolution of the asylum system so that refugees are treated in a fair manner and in accordance with the Law. “
Weyman Bennett, co-convener of Stand Up To Racism, said: “[Boris] Johnson, Patel and the government, and we know that all candidates for the Conservative leadership race support Rwanda’s hateful detention policy, are bad, despite the incredible growth of an anti-racist movement following the #BlackLivesMatter movement and opposition to racism. , to intensify its hostile racist environment for refugees and migrants and turn people into the most desperate situations seeking security in the scapegoats of a crisis and attacks on the standard of living that did nothing to cause.
“We need to keep up the pressure, we can stop foreign detention in Rwanda and make the Nationality and Borders Act unviable, but it will mean a massive campaign, it will escalate protests and it is vital that unions take this fight. of work everywhere and on the streets.
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“We are organizing to prepare in all areas for this kind of response to the Home Office and its attacks on our neighbors.”
An Interior Ministry spokesman said: “We remain committed to our world-leading migration association with Rwanda, which will make those who arrive in the UK in a dangerous, illegal or unnecessary way move to rebuild their homes. lives.
“This is vital to prevent the loss of lives in the Canal and break the business model of human traffickers.
“The government’s new immigration plan is the most comprehensive reform of the asylum system and the Nationality and Borders Act will accelerate the expulsion of those who are not entitled to be here, prevent abuses and deter entry and In the United Kingdom “.
More demonstrations are expected on Sunday.