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Technology Secretary Liz Kendall has asserted that the UK’s migrant deal with France remains on track, even after a high court injunction temporarily halted the removal of an Eritrean man.

The minister emphasized that the last-minute court order preventing the 25-year-old from being sent to Paris would not derail the “one in, one out” plan in the long term.

Earlier this week, a judge granted a short-term injunction after the anonymous man argued he was a victim of trafficking and risked destitution if sent back to France.

She stated on Times Radio that she would not discuss specific cases, but reiterated: “This is one person. It is not going to weaken the core principle of this deal.”

Judicial and Procedural Hurdles

A solicitor acting for migrants questioned the administration’s unplanned and disorganized approach” to choosing people for deportation, including cases where minors were mistakenly targeted.

The lawyer from her firm said: “They have taken quite an arbitrary and unstructured approach in choosing people arriving on small boats.”

She noted that minors were being caught up in the process despite guidelines state they must be explicitly removed from such procedures.

Reports indicated that two 17-year-old boys were erroneously chosen for the program previously.

Background of the Deal

UK authorities last month held dozens Channel migrants under the agreement, vowing to send them back to France “in a short time.”

Initially, removals were scheduled on regular flights from Heathrow to Paris throughout this week, but no one have been sent back so far.

Officials now face the prospect of further legal challenges and delays. Insiders confirmed that at least several additional people were earmarked for removal this week.

Observers have drawn parallels the challenges to the previous administration’s Rwanda deportation plan, which encountered repeated court obstacles. However, unlike that policy, the present challenges involve specific persons rather than the entire program.

Details of the Agreement

Under the deal, finalized in July by the UK leader and Emmanuel Macron, the UK agreed to detain Channel migrants and return to France. In exchange, France would take in a similar number of asylum seekers with family ties in the UK.

The prime minister stated at the time: “There is no simple solution, but with a united effort, new tactics and a new level of determination, we can finally make progress.”

Recently, Mr Justice Sheldon who granted the short-term injunction explained that more time was needed to look into the man’s claim that he was a possible victim of human trafficking.

The court was informed that the man and his mother had travelled to Ethiopia when he was a young child, and that he was later trafficked from there to Libya in 2023.

He claimed he had then traveled via Italy to France, and arrived in the UK by small boat on 12 August after his mother gave £1,000 to traffickers.

Next Steps

France has been planning to send asylum seekers to the UK over the weekend as part of the two-way deal.

A French interior ministry spokesperson said: “Initial returnees are still scheduled to arrive in France from the UK this week. and the initial departures from France will start on Saturday.”