Anti-deportation protest blocks immigration officers trying to remove two men in van

Protesters gathered outside an immigration centre in Croydon yesterday in a demonstration against Monday’s announcement that refugees attending routine appointments will be detained and deported to Rwanda.

On Monday the Home Office confirmed it will start detaining asylum seekers within weeks, for the first planned flights to Rwanda. 

The announcement followed a report published by the Guardian on Sunday which claimed the Government was set to launch a surprise two-week operation on Monday to detain asylum seekers who turned up for routine meetings at immigration service offices or bail appointments.

The report claimed that they would be immediately transferred to detention centres, which have already been prepared for the operation, before flights taking them to Rwanda. 

Activists from Croydon Stand up to Racism, Lambeth Unison black workers group, BLM Croydon and Care 4 Calais met at Lunar House immigration reporting centre at 4.30pm.

Soon after, more than 10 immigration officers arrived in a van. Footage taken at the protest shows two men being escorted from the immigration centre and being forcibly pushed into the van by officers.

Video shows protesters surrounding the van chanting “let them go” as immigration officers force two men inside (Picture: Jocelyn Cruywahen)

Jocelyn Cruywahen, who lives near Lunar House, attended the protest. She said: “The immigration officers were very heavy-handed, it was brutal.

“As they were bringing those two young men out of Lunar house – we went around the side to block the van. The officers managed to push them through and then the stand off started.”

After the two men were in the van, activists sat on the floor in a ring surrounding the vehicle to block its exit.

Ms Cruywahen said: “After about two hours they conceded and they took the men back inside the centre. I stayed until midnight but I was told the men were driven away at 1am.”

Activists gathered yesterday afternoon outside Lunar House in Croydon (Picture: Jocelyn Cruywahen)

This comes after an NGO reported that an asylum seeker who turned up for a routine Home Office appointment at Lunar House on Monday was detained and told that he was being sent to Rwanda.

In what is believed to be the first potential deportation case under the Rwanda scheme, the Sudanese man is said to be one of three people being held after attending the Lunar House immigration reporting centre, according to the organisation Soas Detainee Support (SDS).

Another detainee is Afghan, the group said.

In a post on X, SDS said: “We have received reports of people being detained while reporting and have been told they are at risk of being sent to Rwanda.

“Going forward we intend to have a regular presence at Lunar House – but we’re going to need more numbers to do it.”

Last night after the protest, SDS posted: “Sadly, they’ve taken our friends to detention. Late in the night van loads of cops arrived, outnumbered us, and violently pulled us back. We’re devastated – but we won’t stop fighting for the safety of our friends.”

SDS was set up in 2005 by students at the School of Oriental and African Studies, to offer advice and support to detainees.

Ms Cruywahen said: “How can we let this policy happen ? It’s not good enough to do marches in central London any more, these things are happening at night under our noses.”

A Government impact assessment released on Tuesday warned that changes to guidance would result in more vulnerable and traumatised people being held and deported.

The assessment concluded that the changes would allow the home secretary, rather than the courts, to determine what constitutes a reasonable period of detention for vulnerable people.

Ms Cruywahen said: “These people have come from war-torn countries – deporting them is inhumane and immoral.

“Everyone needs to come together to stop this first plane getting off.

“They chose to come here because they thought they would be safe but they have been met with brutality and hostility.”

Ms Cruywahen said Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda scheme will leave Croydon economically and culturally “bankrupt”.

She said: “The council is already bankrupt and now the community will be too. Immigration is a contribution, it is not a hostile mechanism.

“I am so proud of Croydon for how we respond in these moments, people missed their buses last night to stay as long as they could.

“The community needs to come together now more than ever.”

A spokesman from the Home Office said: “Now that the Safety of Rwanda Act has passed and our Treaty with Rwanda ratified, Government is entering the final phase of operationalising this landmark policy to tackle illegal migration and stop the boats.  

 “This includes detaining people in preparation for the first flight, which is set to take off to Rwanda in 10 to 12 weeks.   

 “It would be inappropriate to comment further on operational activity.” 

Pictured top: Immigration officers force two men into a van outside Lunar House (Picture: Jocelyn Cruywahen)