Britain expands 'Deport Now Appeal Later'
scheme to 15 more countries
Aug. 11 (UPI) -- Britain tripled the number of countries whose citizens face being deported immediately upon having their asylum claim denied or being convicted of a crime as part of a so-called "Deport Now Appeal Later" scheme designed to prevent foreigners from using the legal system to remain in the country.
An additional 15 countries, including Canada, Australia, India and Bulgaria, were being added to the existing eight whose nationals could now be returned before being able to appeal, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper and Foreign Secretary David Lammy said in a news release Sunday.
They said expanding the scheme, which applies in England and Wales only, would ease pressure on the detention system and prison overcrowding by boosting the government's ability to "remove foreign criminals at the earliest opportunity."
Foreign nationals who have had their human rights claim denied will be deported to their home country, from where they can lodge an appeal, taking part in any proceeding via video-link.
Separately, the Justice Ministry unveiled a parallel scheme that will work in tandem, removing foreign national offenders immediately after sentencing, saving taxpayers the cost of holding them until the current halfway point in their sentence in British prisons before they can be deported.
Prisoners serving long prison terms for terrorism, murder and other serious offenses will have to serve out their sentences before becoming eligible for deportation.
"For far too long, foreign criminals have been exploiting our immigration system, remaining in the U.K. for months or even years while their appeals drag on. That has to end. Those who commit crimes in our country cannot be allowed to manipulate the system, which is why we are restoring control and sending a clear message that our laws must be respected and will be enforced," said Cooper.
People whose asylum claim has been denied can be removed before their appeal if the home secretary can certify it would not breach the European Convention on Human Rights, which says people cannot be removed if they would be exposed to "serious irreversible harm" by doing so.
Most of the other countries being added to the list are in Africa and Asia with the new countries accounting for 774 prisoners, or just 7% of the 10,772 foreigners serving time in prisons in England and Wales. Albanians are the largest foreign group in the prison population with 1,193 inmates.
The Home Office claimed it had removed 5,200 people since the Labour government took office in July 2024, up 14% on the previous 12 months.
The changes are part of a government pledge to tackle "illegal" migration that it said had resulted in 35,000 people with no right to remain being returned in the past 12 months, a 50% jump in workplace raids and arrests and paring down the asylum claims backlog by more than doubling the number of decisions.
Shadow Home Secretary, Conservative MP Chris Philp, criticized what he said was a U-turn by Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Labour government.
"Until Keir Starmer either commits to deporting all foreign criminals or stops rolling out the red carpet for migrants the world over, this problem is not going away," Philp said.
The government is in the early stages of formulating new legislation to crack down on what it claims is abuse of a "right to a family life" clause in the country's Human Rights Act -- incorporating the ECHR into British law -- which it argues is widely invoked in appeals against deportation or when asylum claims are denied.
Under the strategy, defendants with immediate family in the United Kingdom can argue that separating them from their relatives by forcibly removing them to another country is a breach of their human rights.
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US secures deal to deport migrants to African state – CBS
Uganda has agreed a deal with Washington to host migrants from third countries who are being deported from the US, CBS reported on Tuesday, citing internal official documents.
The administration of US President Donald Trump has pursued third-country resettlement deals to deport asylum seekers as part of a wider crackdown on illegal immigration, despite criticism and protests.
The agreement with Uganda, according to CBS, will see the East African country accept an unspecified number of African and Asian deportees who had claimed asylum on the US-Mexico border “as long as they don’t have criminal histories.”
A separate deal between Washington and Honduras will reportedly allow the Central American nation to receive several-hundred deportees from Spanish-speaking countries. According to the outlet, Honduras has agreed to a “relatively small number of deportations – just several hundred over two years,” although documents suggest it could accept more.
At least a dozen countries have reportedly accepted or agreed to take in deportees who are not their own citizens. Earlier this month, Uganda’s neighbor Rwanda struck a deal with the White House to accept up to 250 deportees in return for a US grant. Rwandan government spokesperson Yolande Makolo said Kigali would “approve each individual proposed for resettlement.”
In July, the US Department of Homeland Security deported five “barbaric criminals” to Eswatini, weeks after sending eight others to conflict-torn South Sudan. Details of the agreements with both countries have not been disclosed. The White House earlier revoked all visas for South Sudanese passport holders and suspended new issuances, saying the measure could be reviewed once the country fully cooperates in accepting deported nationals.
Nigeria has declared it will not accept foreign deportees from the US. Yusuf Tuggar, the foreign minister of Africa’s most populous nation, accused the Trump administration of using visa restrictions and tariff hikes to pressure African countries into accepting migrants, including “some straight out of prisons.”
Washington has imposed travel sanctions on several Ugandan officials over alleged corruption and human rights abuses following Kampala’s passage of an anti-gay law in 2023, and removed the country from the duty-free African Growth and Opportunity Act trade initiative.
UK: District Council wins case to remove asylum seekers from hotel that has drawn protesters by the thousands
Epping Forest District Council officials asked a judge to temporarily block migrants from being accommodated at the Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, because of “unprecedented levels of protest and disruption.” They should have done it out of a sense of duty, instead of in response to an escalation of outrage. Thousands were protesting, some aggressively, while Essex police eventually admitted to escorting pro-migrant protesters to the asylum hotel.
The court victory is a significant development in recognizing that British taxpayers have taken enough abuse from their leaders. Their pushback has finally yielded a response. Note, however, AP’s deep leftist bias, calling the anti-mass migration protesters “far-right groups,” while the protesters in favor of mass migration and open borders are called “anti-racism demonstrators.” Imagine how differently many people would regard this incident if AP called the anti-mass migration protesters “defenders of the native people and culture,” and the pro-mass migration demonstrators “advocates of national destruction.” Their bias is just as pronounced on the other side.
Officials win court case to remove asylum-seekers from a UK hotel that’s been the focus of protests
by Sylvia Hui, Associated Press, August 19, 2025:
LONDON (AP) — A hotel near London that has become the focus of heated anti-migrant protests in recent weeks will have to remove asylum-seekers who are staying there after authorities won a legal bid Tuesday to oust the migrants.
Officials from the Epping Forest District Council asked a judge to issue an order to temporarily block migrants from being accommodated at the Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, due to “unprecedented levels of protest and disruption” over asylum-seeker accommodation.
Thousands of people, some chanting “save our kids” and “send them home,” have protested near the hotel after an asylum-seeker living there was charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl. Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu has denied charges against him and is due to stand trial later this month.
The protests, which included local people as well as some members of organized far-right groups, started out peaceful but turned violent. At least nine people were arrested in connection with the demonstrations.
Anti-racism demonstrators have also staged counterprotests outside the Bell Hotel and other sites.
Philip Coppel, a lawyer for local officials in Epping, said the hotel’s housing of asylum-seekers had provided a “feeding ground for unrest” and community tension.
A High Court judge ruled Tuesday that the hotel must stop housing asylum-seekers by Sept. 12. It wasn’t immediately clear where the migrants would be moved to….
