THIS is the dramatic moment the first illegal migrants set to be removed to Rwanda were today detained.
Border cops have today burst into homes in a series of immigration raids to stop the asylum seekers from absconding ahead of deportation flights in July.
Home Secretary James Cleverly said the enforcement squads were “working at pace” to nab them - and released pictures and video of the stings.
Footage shows officers swooping on several addresses before leading illegal migrants into the back of a van in handcuffs.
It comes after The Sun exclusively revealed that the first migrant has already been sent to Kigali under the parallel voluntary scheme.
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Mr Cleverly said: “Our Rwanda Partnership is a pioneering response to the global challenge of illegal migration, and we have worked tirelessly to introduce new, robust legislation to deliver it.
“Our dedicated enforcement teams are working at pace to swiftly detain those who have no right to be here so we can get flights off the ground.”
The Safety of Rwanda Act finally passed last week allows illegal migrants to be detained ahead of their removal to the East African country.
Ministers claim they have ramped up detention space to 2,200 to hold them and ensure they do not flee - as some have already done in anticipation of the scheme going live.
The Rwanda plan is Rishi Sunak’s flagship policy to stop small boat crossings that have increased in the last year.
Today 268 made the deadly journey across the Channel in a quarterly rise of 27 per cent on 2023 rates.
Operational teams within the Home Office have been working at pace to safely and swiftly detain individuals in scope for relocation to Rwanda, with more activity due to be carried out in the coming weeks.
The action is a key part of the plan to deliver flights to Rwanda in the next nine to eleven weeks.
This activity forms yet another major milestone in the Government’s wider plan to stop small boat crossings, which we reduced by more than a third in 2023.
The Rwanda policy will deter migrants from making perilous journeys across the channel by showing clearly that, if you come here illegally, you cannot stay.
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It comes after Britain has removed the first failed asylum seeker to Rwanda.
The unnamed migrant was flown out of the UK on Monday evening and was unpacking his bags for a new life in sunny Kigali yesterday.
It is the first time the government has ever relocated a failed asylum seeker to a third country in what ministers are hoping is the first of thousands.
After his bid to stay in Britain was rejected at the end of 2023, the man - who is of African origin - voluntarily accepted passage to a new life in the central African nation.
He was sent on a commercial flight and handed around £3,000 from the British taxpayer to help relocate under the terms of a deal with Rwanda.
The removal was part of a side scheme to the forced deportation of illegal immigrants policy that is set to begin flights in July.
But there were sighs of relief in Whitehall last night that the first removal and Rwandan processing went off without a hitch - in what planners have dubbed a “proof of concept” success.
A well-placed source said: “This proves it's possible and legal for Britain to remove failed asylum seekers to Rwanda successfully and smoothly.”
In March, the Home Office confirmed the voluntary relocation plan for anyone caught in Britain with no right to be here.
They said then that Rwanda stood “ready to accept people who wish to rebuild their lives and cannot stay in the UK.”
The side deal is for those who have already gone through the asylum process here and been refused permission to stay rather than Channel migrants who enter illegally.
Last year 19,000 failed asylum seekers were voluntarily removed from the UK, after being told they would never get the rights of legal migrants such as the right to work.
But there are tens of thousands still in the system who cannot be sent back to their home countries due to fears of persecution.
Ministers argue it is better and cheaper to send them to Rwanda than support them here - even after offering them cash and a one-way ticket to a new life.
Most of the migrants set for Rwanda will be detained during their routine reporting to Home Office contact centres.
But those who fail to keep contact will have their doors kicked in, or find Border Force officers pursuing them if they flee.
A portion of Britain’s 2,200 detention capacity has been specifically ring-fenced for Rwanda migrants.
It is understood existing detainees have been shunted out to make room, although they are not believed to be dangerous foreign offenders.
