Airlines pressured over deportation flights by rights groups
Rights groups are sounding the alarm over UK–France cooperation on deportation flights, warning that the policy risks pushing asylum seekers into exploitation and modern slavery.
At the center of concern is the so-called “one in, one out” arrangement. Under the deal, the UK can return people who cross the Channel irregularly in exchange for accepting others through legal routes. Advocates say the scheme prioritizes deterrence over protection—forcing people seeking safety back into precarious conditions without adequate safeguards.
They warn that instability, homelessness and legal limbo create prime conditions for trafficking and abuse.
Safe migration gaps increase exploitation risks
For years, migration experts have warned that restricting safe routes drives people into dangerous alternatives. When visas are limited and asylum systems are inaccessible, people turn to smugglers or take life-threatening journeys alone. That vulnerability does not disappear after deportation.
Recent reports suggest migrants returned to France under the scheme face serious hardship, including lack of shelter and uncertainty around their asylum claims. For people already fleeing war or persecution, that instability can heighten the risk of labor exploitation, sexual exploitation and other forms of modern slavery.
A Somali refugee and one of the first deported through the scheme back to France told The Guardian:
Is their idea of humanitarian protection to send back people who have no shelter or protection to the very countries they fled from? This UK agreement will go down as a dark chapter in history because it has abandoned us completely.
According to advocates, the policy also risks undermining international refugee protections. They argue that deterrence-focused migration policies like this are prioritizing border control over human safety. These concerns echo wider criticism across Europe. Tellingly, more than 70 organizations recently warned that expanding deportation systems could lead to increased surveillance, racial profiling, and civil rights violations.