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Human rights groups have submitted papers at the High Court in London to get an injunction to halt next week’s planned deportation of asylum seekers from the United Kingdom to Rwanda, a scheme that has drawn widespread criticism.

High Court in London

Britain’s government announced in April that it had struck a deal to send potentially tens of thousands of asylum seekers to the East African nation in a bid to undermine people-smuggling networks, and stem the flow of migrants risking their lives by crossing the English Channel in small boats from France.

The first flight taking the migrants to Rwanda is expected next week, the Conservative government has said.

Charities Care4Calais and Detention Action along with the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), which represents civil servants in Britain’s interior ministry, said yesterday that lawyers had submitted papers seeking a judicial review of the scheme, and an injunction to block the June 14 flight.

“It’s vital that new government policies respect and uphold the laws that we all, as a society, have agreed to follow,” said James Wilson, deputy director of Detention Action.

“That’s why we’re seeking an injunction to keep this plane to Rwanda from leaving the runway.”

There was no immediate comment from the Home Office.

European Union

Concerns over immigration were a big factor in the 2016 vote for Britain to leave the European Union, and Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been under pressure to deliver on his promise to “take back control” of Britain’s borders.

Last year, more than 28 000 migrants and refugees made the crossing from mainland Europe to Britain.

In November, 27 people drowned when their small rubber dinghy deflated, and many others have needed to be rescued from the narrow seaway, one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.

Under the government scheme, anyone who has arrived in Britain illegally since January 1 could be relocated to Rwanda.–Al Jazeera.