UK begins detaining migrants to be deported to Rwanda | world

British authorities have begun detaining migrants in preparation for sending them to Rwanda in the near future, laying the groundwork for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's flagship immigration policy, the government said on Wednesday.

More than 7,500 migrants arrived in England on small boats from France this yearThe government claims the policy will prevent people from making dangerous journeys across the English Channel. Five people died trying to cross last week.

Human rights charities and trade unions that oppose the policy are expected to launch new legal challenges to prevent flights from taking off, after the UK Supreme Court declared the policy illegal last year.

Footage published by the British Home Office on Wednesday showed a man being placed in a truck by immigration authorities while another was taken out of the house in handcuffs.

Home Affairs Minister James Cleverley said in a statement on Wednesday: “Our dedicated enforcement teams are working at pace to quickly arrest those who have no right to be here so we can get flights off the ground.”

Refugee charity Care4Calais said the arrests began on Monday.

A spokesperson for the group said the group's helpline had received calls from “dozens of people,” adding that they did not yet know who would be on the first deportation flight, or when the process would begin.

The UK has sent its first asylum seeker to Rwanda under a voluntary scheme, The Sun reported on Tuesday, a program separate from the deportation policy.

“People are very afraid,” said Natasha Tsangarides, associate director of advocacy at the charity Freedom from Torture, adding that the fear of being arrested and sent to Rwanda would push some people underground and disconnected from their support system.