Rights groups pressure airlines over deportation flights

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. 

Home Office has stirred up a “hornet’s nest” 

Safe migration pathways—transparent visa systems, labor protections and access to justice—are widely recognized as essential tools to prevent exploitation. When those systems fail, traffickers fill the gap.

Rights groups say the “one in, one out” policy worsens that gap.

Griff Ferris of the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants condemned the scheme, saying:  

This deportation scheme is a sick and dehumanizing way to treat people who came here to seek safety from war and persecution. These are people with hopes, dreams, and loved ones, who deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. We call on these airlines to cease their complicity in these cruel, inhumane and racist deportations. 

Testimony from those returned underscores the human toll. Some report fear, confusion and an inability to secure housing or continue asylum claims. That uncertainty can trap people in cycles of vulnerability—conditions traffickers routinely exploit.

Calls for legislative accountability and policy change 

The policy was designed to deter irregular migration. Critics argue it risks achieving the opposite of protection: increasing exposure to exploitation while failing to address root causes.

Rights organizations are urging both governments and private companies to halt deportations until meaningful human rights safeguards are in place. They are calling for survivor-centered migration systems that expand safe routes and ensure fair access to asylum.

Deterrence does not end migration. It often drives it underground.

Without stronger protections, deportation systems will continue to endanger people seeking safety—and deepen the conditions that allow modern slavery to thrive.

Add your voice. Urge policymakers and corporations to put protection before punishment and ensure migration systems do not fuel exploitation.