The man, who claimed asylum in the UK a decade ago, has no criminal record, has never absconded and says he consistently complies with immigration requirements by reporting fortnightly to the Home Office. His two children were born in the UK and have permission to remain. “It’s like I have a knee on my neck, like I’m being choked,” he said, speaking from the evacuation center. “They came to search the restaurant where I was helping, more than 10 of them, all wearing uniforms. They said they have a tip that an illegal employee is here and started asking people about me. They didn’t give me any explanation, they just took me [the] police station, detaining me there and then to the immigration center. They treat me like an animal.” The man, who is being held on immigration charges after his appeal rights were exhausted, says he has a right to family life as his children were born in the UK and have permission to remain. He believes the Home Office is unfairly targeting Albanians. “This whole place [Harmondsworth] it is full of Albanians. It looks like they are picking us up to put us on a fare [flight] out of here. The guy I share a cell with, over half the wing, are Albanians. “It crossed my mind that this is it [a] revenge against us. It seems the government is finding loopholes to get us out. Everyone is so upset and scared – we don’t know what’s going to happen to us.” On Thursday, the Home Office announced a deal with the Albanian government aimed at removing rejected asylum seekers “as soon as possible” amid a surge in small boat arrivals from Albania. The latest figures published by the Home Office show that 2,165 Albanians arrived in the UK in small boats in the first half of 2022, compared to 23 in the same period last year. Of all those who entered the UK via this route, more than half (51%) were from three nationalities, with Albanians and Afghans each accounting for 18% of arrivals. The Home Office plans to deter those seeking to cross the Channel by issuing warnings that they will not have the right to live or work in the UK and could face increased jail terms for immigration offences. According to the Home Office, Albania is a “safe and prosperous country” and many nationals “travel to many countries to travel to the UK” before making “false asylum claims on arrival”. Interior Ministry figures published on Thursday show that around half of Albanian asylum seekers are granted refugee status. The figures show that 21 people were forcibly removed on the grounds that they are ‘inadmissible’ for asylum after Brexit, despite ministers widening the scope of this rule. Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Under the new plans, Albanian police officers will be deployed to the Kent coast to monitor migrant arrivals and share information with the British government. The department has not confirmed when the proposals will be released. A Home Office spokesman said: “The British public should be in no doubt about our determination to remove those who have no right to be in the UK. We have already removed almost 1,000 Albanian foreign and immigration offenders this year so far, including some who crossed the Channel illegally to come to the UK. “Under plans announced this week, people going through this route will have their asylum claims processed immediately, with those who have no right to be in the UK removed as soon as possible.”
