‘I was traumatised by the Rwanda threat. We hugged and cried at the verdict in court’

It took seeing the smiles of the people around him in the Supreme Court chamber for Ali to realise he was no longer at risk of being sent to Rwanda.

After months of feeling “traumatised” at the prospect of deportation, he could breathe a sigh of relief. Others were in tears and hugging one another after the UK’s top court ruled the Government’s plan was unlawful.

Ali (which is not his real name) was one of eight asylum seekers who, alongside charity Asylum Aid, took the Government to court after being told he could be sent to Rwanda.

Judges unanimously ruled that the policy – which would see asylum seekers who arrive by small boats sent to Rwanda to have their claims processed there, with no possibility of being assessed or granted asylum in the UK – was unlawful due to the risks of asylum claims being incorrectly processed in the east-central African nation.

“After all the struggle and waiting, I am so happy and relieved,” Ali told i, minutes after the judgment was handed down.

“I can’t think of anything other than being happy.”

Ali was inside the court room with the legal team and refugee charity Care4Calais, which has been supporting him, when the verdict was announced. He said he only realised that they had won the case when everyone around him began smiling.

“I thanked them [lawyers and charity workers], and it felt like being among family. I was shocked. Everyone was happy. Maybe I cried, I can’t remember,” he said. One of the support team cried and hugged Ali.

“Most people who seek asylum [in the UK] are fleeing war and just want to have a peaceful life,” he said of his involvement in the legal case. “I feel it’s my duty to support them. I wasn’t scared [of taking on the Home Office], I just feel proud.”

Ali said that the ruling marked the “end of limbo” and the “chance to start life” for himself and other asylum seekers who were facing deportation, and he hoped that there could now be progress on his asylum claim.

“I usually try to be positive, after waiting all that time in limbo, I felt depressed. I felt traumatised about being deported. I’ve now started to feel hope again, but I think this depression and trauma will stay with me for a long time.”

Ali said that other asylum seekers had also suffered with poor mental health since the policy was announced, saying that the Rwanda plan was a “key part” of the problem because it made them feel there was “no hope for them in the future”.

Ali came to the UK in spring 2022 by boat after fleeing a conflict zone, which i is not naming to protect his identity, and was immediately detained at an immigration detention centre close to Heathrow. He stayed there for two months.

Since his release, Ali said that his local community in the UK has been supportive and “welcoming”. He now hopes the Supreme Court verdict will see the Government take the same approach.

“I can’t understand the difference between the Government’s policies and the support around me. I hope the Government will now reflect the public opinion on this.”

Related Article

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the verdict was “not the outcome we wanted” but insisted he remained “completely committed to stopping the boats”.

He said that the court “confirmed that the principle of sending illegal migrants to a safe third country for processing is lawful” which “confirms the Government’s clear view from the outset”.

Mr Sunak added: “Illegal migration destroys lives and costs British taxpayers millions of pounds a year. We need to end it and we will do whatever it takes to do so.”