World
UK has begun mass arrests of potential Rwanda deportees: What’s next?
The British authorities have begun a series of operations to detain migrants in preparation for their deportation to Rwanda as part of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s flagship immigration policy.
The UK Home Office, which oversees immigration matters in the United Kingdom, released a video on Wednesday showing armed immigration officers handcuffing individuals at their homes and escorting them into deportation vans.
In a statement, it announced a “series of nationwide operations” ahead of the first deportations to begin in the next nine to 11 weeks. Interior minister James Cleverly said enforcement teams were “working at pace to swiftly detain those who have no right to be here so we can get flights off the ground”.
BREAKING: The first people set to be removed to Rwanda have been detained. pic.twitter.com/2WWNhQVC1l
— Home Office (@ukhomeoffice) May 1, 2024
Last month, Parliament approved a controversial law – known as the Safety of Rwanda Bill – that allows for asylum seekers who arrive illegally in Britain to be deported to Rwanda, even after the UK Supreme Court declared the policy unlawful last year.
Sunak, who is expected to call an election later this year, said the flagship immigration policy seeks to deter people from crossing the English Channel in small boats and to tackle the issue of people-smuggling gangs.
Unions and human rights charities have expressed dismay at the wave of arrests so far. While some have succeeded in blocking transfers to removal centres, they say it is becoming increasingly difficult to bring legal action.
Who is being targeted by the campaign of mass arrests?
The Home Office has announced it is carrying out arrests within an initial cohort of about 5,700 men and women who arrived in the UK without prior permission between January 2022 and June 2023. Those who fall within this group have been sent a “notice of intent” stating that they are being considered for deportation to Rwanda.
However, it was revealed this week that government data shows that the Home Office has lost contact with thousands of potential deportees, with only 2,143 “located for detention” so far. More than 3,500 are unaccounted for, with some thought to have fled across the Northern Irish border into Ireland. Others include people who have failed to attend mandatory appointments with the UK authorities. Ministers have insisted enforcement teams will find them.
Several asylum seekers who did attend compulsory appointments with the UK authorities as part of their application for asylum this week have been arrested and told they will be sent to Rwanda.
Fizza Qureshi, CEO of the charity Migrants’ Rights Network, told Al Jazeera that “people are forced to go and report in these Home Office centres and once they are there, there is no guarantee that they’ll come out free”.
The government has not provided exact figures for the number of arrests conducted since the operation started on Monday, but detentions have been reported across the UK in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and in cities including Bristol, Liverpool, Birmingham and Glasgow.
Maddie Harris, founder of the UK-based Humans for Rights Network, told Al Jazeera that asylum seekers from war-torn countries including Afghanistan, Sudan, Syria and Eritrea with no connection to Rwanda are being arrested as part of the scheme.
One of the organisation’s clients, a young woman who has been in the UK for almost two years, was arrested as part of the crackdown. “She is absolutely terrified,” Harris said, adding that while the young woman has no connection to Rwanda, she was told she would be deported to the Eastern African country.
According to Humans for Rights Network, individuals who have filled out a Home Office questionnaire over the past two years were also being arrested. The organisation said it had initially believed completing the form indicated that the client had been admitted into the UK asylum system and could not be deported.
That assumption has been proven false and “that’s very concerning”, Harris said.
How is the arrest campaign affecting the people being targeted?
Rights groups, including Migrants’ Rights Network, have been successful in blocking the transfer of some people to removal centres in several cases, but Qureshi said it required “24/7 resistance” for each individual case.
Qureshi added that the arrests have had a chilling effect, pushing asylum seekers to evade authorities and into exploitative situations. “Raids push people underground and away from support systems,” she said. “There is no safe option for people and that has been made clear.”
Natasha Tsangarides, associate director of advocacy at Freedom from Torture, said detentions run the risk of rekindling pre-existing trauma in people who were subject to torture or ill-treatment, while also driving them away from support systems.
“Clinicians who work with torture survivors every day in our therapy rooms have recognised that many will experience re-traumatisation even with a very short time in detention,” Tsangarides said, adding that this would deteriorate trauma symptoms.
“Not only does this legislation place people at risk of harm if they are sent to Rwanda, but it spreads such terror in the community that we worry people may go underground to avoid taking any risk.”
The UK government has not ruled out sending survivors of torture to Rwanda.
Could legal action stop the deportations?
The ruling Conservative party’s plan to deport immigrants who have entered the UK without permission to Rwanda has faced more than two years of legal hurdles and political wrangling between the two houses of Parliament.
In June 2022, the first flight taking refugees to Rwanda was stopped at the last minute by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). Last year, the UK Supreme Court declared the deportation scheme unlawful on the basis that the government could not guarantee the safety of migrants once they had arrived in Rwanda.
The Safety of Rwanda Bill, which was passed on April 23, circumvented the Supreme Court ruling by designating the East African country as a safe destination, paving the way for deportations to begin.
The Illegal Migration Act, which became law in July 2023, also stated that anyone who arrives in the UK on small boats will be prevented from claiming asylum, detained and then deported either back to their homelands or to a third country, such as Rwanda.
Jonathan Featonby, chief policy analyst at Refugee Council, told Al Jazeera that both legislations severely limit the ability of people to challenge their removal to Rwanda through the courts.
Under the plan, asylum seekers arriving illegally in the UK can be sent to Rwanda to be processed within the East African country’s legal system and will not be able to return to the UK.
“In reality, people’s ability to continue that challenge and get the support they need to go through that process is severely limited,” Featonby said. “There are some legal organisations coming together to make sure they can provide legal support and challenge both individual cases and the legislation itself, but it is quite unclear how successful those challenges will be.”
The senior civil servants’ union FDA on Wednesday submitted an application for a judicial review against the government’s Rwanda plan, arguing that it leaves its members at risk of breaching international law if they follow a minister’s demands.
Featonby said appeals can also be filed at the European Court of Human Rights, “but that will take time and it will likely not prevent someone from being removed to Rwanda in the meantime”.
“Not only is the legislation dehumanising people coming to the UK to seek protection, but it is shutting down the asylum process,” he added.
“We are calling for the whole plan and the Illegal Migration Act to be scrapped and for the government to run a fair, efficient and humane asylum system.”
World
The deadly car explosion in New Delhi is being investigated under an anti-terrorism law
NEW DELHI (AP) — Indian police were investigating the deadly car explosion in New Delhi under an anti-terrorism law, officials said Tuesday, as forensic experts worked to determine the cause of the blast.
The explosion occurred near the historic Red Fort late Monday, killing at least eight people and injuring several others.
Senior police officials told The Associated Press that a case was registered under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, India’s main anti-terrorism law, which allows broader powers to investigating agencies to detain suspects. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the case.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was on a scheduled visit to Bhutan on Tuesday, said investigators would “get to the bottom of this conspiracy.
“The conspirators won’t be spared and all those responsible will be brought to justice,” Modi said.
Police said the explosion was believed to have originated from a Hyundai i20 car that had stopped at a traffic signal. Nearby vehicles were badly damaged, and photos showed shattered windows, twisted metal and flames engulfing several cars.
Police were trying to trace the car’s owner. There was no immediate information about the occupants, who were believed to have been killed.
Home Minister Amit Shah said Monday that “all angles” were being investigated and that security agencies would reach a conclusion soon. He said footage from cameras in the area would play a key role in the investigation.
Major train stations, including in Mumbai and in Uttar Pradesh state, which borders New Delhi, were put on security alert. The security force responsible for guarding key installations in the capital, including New Delhi’s international airport, metro system and major government buildings, said its personnel had also been placed on security alert.
A former imperial palace, the Red Fort is a sprawling Mughal-era complex and a major tourist attraction in the Old Delhi section of the city. Located about 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) from Parliament, the 17th-century monument is a symbolic location where Indian prime ministers deliver their Independence Day speeches on Aug. 15 each year.
The area around Red Fort is typically crowded, serving as a main route to the bustling bazaars of the old city.
World
Government shutdown reaches overseas bases as many feel the strain
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Thousands of miles from the stalemate in Washington D.C., the effects of the government shutdown are being felt around the world. While President Donald Trump found a way to temporarily pay U.S. troops — others on base aren’t so lucky, including teachers and support staff.
Donna Irwin, a substitute teacher at a naval base in Italy, says the impact is deeply felt. “It has been absolutely terrible to watch and the morale at the school, I mean it’s low,” Irwin said.
LAWMAKER WARNS GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN CHAOS POTENTIALLY LEADING TO BIG WASTE IN THE MILITARY, IMPACTING READINESS
Some American educators abroad are not allowed to take second jobs while the government shutdown leaves military school staff unpaid overseas.
The Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) operates 161 schools in 11 countries, seven states and two territories across 10 time zones. Nearly 900,000 military-connected children live worldwide, 67,000 of whom are enrolled in DoDEA schools and served by more than 14,000 employees.
In a statement, DoDEA’s communications operations chief Jessica Tackaberry told Fox News that they remain “committed to providing a world-class education” and that they “understand the difficulties this situation may create for our dedicated educators and staff who are working without pay. DoDEA is closely monitoring the situation and will continue to provide guidance and support to employees as needed.”
Athletics and co-curricular activities are also considered excepted activities at this time.
The Department of Defense Education Activity acknowledges the challenges faced by educators and staff working without pay during the government shutdown.
Irwin considers herself lucky that her husband is still getting a paycheck as a sailor, but with half their income on hold, they’re cutting back. She says that even when the government reopens, repayment can still take a while.
HOUSE CONSERVATIVE LEADER GIVES BLESSING TO SENATE SHUTDOWN DEAL, WITH ‘ONE CAVEAT’
“Especially out here, you feel forgotten because we are here to support that mission — as DoD contractors, as spouses and family members of the service members,. You know, these bases, these installations — they really don’t function without us, without our vital jobs and our support,” she said.
It’s a unique situation for Americans living abroad. For many, taking a second job off base isn’t allowed under their contract agreements. Living an ocean away from family who could help adds to the stress. Some are simply trying to explain to European landlords that their employer isn’t sending a paycheck, and they can’t afford rent or utility bills.
Some teachers at military bases abroad pay out of pocket for snacks and school supplies for their students as they work without compensation during the government shutdown. (John Moore/Getty Images)
“We oftentimes forget about all those little auto-pay things we have — everything from streaming services to healthcare needs — and they’re having to do these deep dives into their bank accounts and cancel all of these, you know, car insurance, your vehicle,” Irwin said.
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Despite the shutdown, educators say their students still come first and that the mission continues — even if it means footing the bill themselves for snacks and school supplies. Irwin works in a special education classroom, teaching essential life skills such as cooking and cleaning.
“I have no budget for any of that in my current classroom, so I’ve been having to go to the commissary myself and make do, trying to buy things that I can’t afford right now for these students who desperately need those life skills,” Irwin said. “I think the saddest thing for me is watching my students come in, and they don’t fully understand everything that’s happening with the government and with politics and to see them worried, to see them worry about, ‘Am I going to have a meal tomorrow, am I going to have a meal today?’”
World
US Senate passes bill to end longest ever government shutdown
The measure still needs to be approved by the House and signed by US President Donald Trump.
Published On 11 Nov 2025
The United States is moving closer to ending its record-breaking government shutdown after the Senate took a critical step forward to end its five-week impasse.
The Senate on Monday night approved a spending package by a vote of 60 to 40 to fund the US government through January 30, and reinstate pay for hundreds of thousands of federal workers.
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The spending bill next moves to the House of Representatives for approval and then on to President Donald Trump for a sign-off before the shutdown can finally end.
House Speaker Mike Johnson has said he would like to pass it as soon as Wednesday and send it on to Trump to sign into law.
The vote in the Senate follows negotiations this weekend that saw seven Democrats and one Independent agree to vote in favour of the updated spending package to end the shutdown, which enters its 42nd day on Tuesday.
Also included in the deal are three-year funding appropriations for the Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration, military construction projects, veterans affairs and congressional operations.
The bill does not, however, resolve one of the most central issues in the shutdown – extending healthcare subsidies. Senate Republicans have agreed to vote on the issue as a separate measure in December.
US legislators have been under growing pressure to end the government shutdown, which enters its forty-second day on Tuesday, as their constituents feel the impact of funding lapses for programmes like food stamps.
Hundreds of thousands of federal employees have been furloughed or required to work without pay since the shutdown began on October 1, while Trump has separately threatened to use the shutdown as a pretext to slash the federal workforce.
Voters have also felt the impact of the shutdown at airports across the US after the Federal Aviation Administration last week announced a 10 percent cut in air traffic due to absences from air traffic controllers.
The cuts have created chaos for US air travel just as the country is heading into its busiest travel season of the year.
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