LONDON (AP) — A Belfast judge ruled that the United Kingdom's law to deport asylum-seekers should not apply in Northern Ireland due to violations of human rights protections. High Court Justice Michael Humphreys stated that the Illegal Migration Act is incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights and undermines rights outlined in the Good Friday peace agreement of 1998.
U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced that the government plans to appeal the judgment. The law is a key component of Sunak's controversial strategy to deport migrants to Rwanda, but the impact of the ruling on this initiative remains uncertain.
While the prime minister's office indicated that the ruling would not impede the planned deportations to Rwanda set to commence in July, a lawyer involved in the case noted that the law would not be applicable in Northern Ireland. Attorney Sinéad Marmion described the ruling as a significant obstacle for the government in implementing the deportation plan in Northern Ireland.
The law was designed to deter migrants risking their lives to cross the English Channel to seek asylum in the U.K. by offering the possibility of deportation to Rwanda. It allows for the deportation of those who arrive illegally to a 'safe' third country for processing of their claims.
The U.K. Supreme Court previously rejected flights to Rwanda, citing safety concerns. However, a subsequent bill deemed the country safe, making it more challenging for migrants to challenge deportation and enabling the U.K. government to disregard injunctions from the European Court of Human Rights blocking removals.
Justice Humphreys found that certain provisions of the law violated human rights protections outlined in a post-Brexit deal between the U.K. and the European Union known as the Windsor Framework. This agreement stipulates honoring the peace accord that largely ended the Troubles, a period of 30 years of conflict between British unionists and Irish nationalists.
The leader of the Democratic Unionist Party emphasized that the U.K. government had been cautioned multiple times that its immigration policy would not be applicable in Northern Ireland due to inconsistencies with the post-Brexit agreement with the E.U. The DUP Leader stated that the judgment discredits the government's claims that the Rwanda scheme could extend to Northern Ireland.
Prime Minister Sunak argued that the Good Friday agreement was not intended to cover issues like illegal migration. The law was challenged by the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission and a 16-year-old Iranian asylum-seeker who fears persecution if returned to Iran.
The judge imposed a temporary stay on the ruling until later this month.
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