Thread by @ZoeJardiniere, I'm fascinated by the rush of Dublin removals that the UK has [...]

I'm fascinated by the rush of Dublin removals that the UK has has been pursuing over the past several months. Week after week, we see removal flights carrying Syrian, Afghan, Sudanese & other asylum seekers back to other EU countries they've transited...

With time running out to the end of the transition period, after-which, in the lack of some new deal, we will no longer be part of Dublin & have no mechanism to return asylum seekers to EU countries, our lawyers have noted a definite increase in removal with fewer safeguards.

This is raising very serious concerns that we're neglecting our own laws intended to safeguard victims of trafficking. With the Home Office sanctioned in court this week for failing to adequately screen for potential victims since the start of the pandemic.

There are serious worries about conditions under-which new arrivals are being held, the apparently increasingly systematic use of detention, which is not lawful, & numerous reports of people, including children, detained in unsuitable facilities with no showers, bedding, food...

But all of this, sadly, we know. The Home Office's willingness to break the law, deny people their rights & traumatise the vulnerable isn't new. I'm interested in how they're pulling this off. Dublin has always been a notoriously inefficient system. Apparently no more?

You can't simply "send someone back" there's a process. The sending state has to make a request to the receiving state, based on evidence the asylum seeker has transited that country. Then the request has to be accepted & travel arrangements are made. This usually takes a while.

Currently, the process is moving fast, can it just be the UK prioritising as many returns as possible without concern for rights & the law as outlined above?

Other EU countries must also be accepting transfer requests & arranging them - is this happening any faster than usual?

There was one story of some Syrians returned to Madrid who found themselves on the street without any reception upon arrival, seemingly because the UK had returned them without proper arrangements with Spain, & I'm sure there's more cases we haven't heard of.

(after all, it is sadly not so unusual for asylum seekers to be left homeless or destitute for long periods in several EU countries. Maybe it simply hasn't reached us that this is happening regularly to returnees)

But it does appear that EU states are largely cooperating with the UK's expulsion drive. This is interesting. Is it just "showing willing", knowing this can't go on much longer, or is there some successful negotiation on return behind the scenes that we haven't heard about yet?

I'm intrigued because states notoriously take a long time to take charge of applications. If a receiving state doesn't respond to a request within 3 months, the request is closed automatically. At this point, EU states don't really *have* to keep taking anyone from the UK at all.

I'd be interested in any knowledgeable parties' opinion on this question -
How has the UK suddenly pulled off making Dublin an efficient returns mechanism?
Is there something I'm not seeing here?
Is it just that we've got all resources on this one thing?

Finally & crucially: This increase in returns does NOT reflect any increase in arrivals of asylum seekers. While we have seen a change in route to small boats, in part due to the pandemic closing other routes, there has been no increase in the rate of asylum seekers in the UK...

In fact, while we in the UK are focusing so many Home Office resources on this mad rush of removals, we are not only neglecting potential victims of trafficking among arrivals, but allowing the backlog of asylum seekers who must have their case heard in the UK to grow and grow.

This means more people who have fled atrocities stuck in limbo in our asylum system. More lives on hold on measly insufficient asylum benefits. More people denied the right to work/study. More people held in inadequate accommodation in a pandemic. More scapegoats for the Tories.

Don't get me wrong, we're not removing thousands on thousands of people. In dribs and drabs we're sending a few hundred back and forth across Europe. People who definitely have substantive asylum claims. People we could & should focus our resources on protecting.

A couple resources here, including @RivkahBrown's piece showing increase in Dublin returns accepting in Germany https://novaramedia.com/2020/11/17/the-uk-is-rushing-to-deport-asylum-seekers-before-brexit-new-data-shows/
And Guardian here on mistreatment of children in 'push to deport' https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/nov/15/migrant-childrens-welfare-is-being-sidelined-in-uks-brutal-push-to-deport?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

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