The UK government has launched its "one in, one out" deportation plan with France, detaining the first arrivals intercepted crossing the English Channel. Migrants in life jackets were seen disembarking from Border Force vessels in Dover on Wednesday, the first day of the policy, the BBC reports. The new arrangement, agreed by Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron, aims to send migrants arriving illegally back to France, in exchange for bringing in an equal number of pre-approved asylum seekers from France.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper declined to specify how many were being detained, citing operational security, but pledged that new arrivals are now subject to immediate detention and potential return. She said the government will fight legal challenges and expects the first removals within weeks. The pilot is set to run 11 months, with the UK promising to refer cases for return within three days of arrival and French authorities responding inside two weeks. "If you break the law to enter this country, you will face being sent back," Starmer said, per the Telegraph. "When I say I will stop at nothing to secure our borders, I mean it."
Eligible asylum seekers still in France can apply online to come to the UK, but must pass security checks and a visa process. If successful, they will have three months in the UK to make an asylum claim or apply for a visa, during which time they cannot work or access benefits.
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The new scheme comes as Channel crossings surge, with over 25,000 arrivals in small boats so far in 2025—nearly 50% more than last year at this time. Critics, including Conservative politicians, argue the plan will not significantly curb migration and is less robust than the previous Conservative government's controversial plan to send migrants to Rwanda. Starmer declared the Rwanda plan "dead and buried" the day after his Labour Party won last year's election.
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