Who exactly is the ridiculous ‘One In One Out’ scheme meant to impress?

On the morning of Friday 19 September, an Eritrean man became the second migrant to be deported to France under the UK government’s new ‘One In One Out’ (OIOO) scheme. His Air France flight left Heathrow for Paris at 6:15am, according to the Home Office.

The deportee was accompanied on the flight by no less than three Home Office staff, which leaves us to ask – who exactly is this ridiculous display of border security theatre actually fucking for?

Legal Challenges for ‘One In One Out’

The news comes after the first flight intended to carry unsuccessful migrants under the scheme reportedly left without them on Monday 15 September. The individuals were removed from the plane due to a last-minute legal challenge.

The first person to be deported under OIOO was then removed on the morning of Thursday 18 September. The Indian national reportedly made no legal challenge to the deportation.

One Eritrean man successfully challenged his deportation in High Court on Tuesday. He now awaits a hearing regarding claims that he was trafficked into the country, and whether his removal would be lawful in light of that possibility. However, the same judge rejected similar claims made by barristers for today’s deportee, stating that “there is no serious issue to be tried in this case”.

‘One In One Out’

Regarding the scheme itself, a Home Office press release explained that:

The agreement means that anyone entering the UK on a small boat can be detained immediately on arrival and returned to France by the UK government – with detentions expected to begin within days. Under the ‘one-in, one-out’ scheme, an equal number of migrants will be eligible to come to the UK through a new route if they have not attempted an illegal crossing before – subject to full documentation and security and eligibility checks.

The same document went on to boast that deportations to other countries will continue alongside the new scheme. The Labour government, in its first year in office, claims to have deported more than 35,000 people. That’s a 13% increase overall compared to the previous year, and a 28% increase in returns of unsuccessful asylum seekers specifically.

The government also conducted more than 9,000 raids in search of illegal workers since July 2024. This resulted in 6,410 arrests, up 51% compared to the previous year.

Impressive numbers, right? Surely that will win over the immigrant-hostile vote.

And yet, far-right Reform UK are still dominating the polls. Headlines still bang on about Labour failing to stop small boats. 110,000 racists marched through London beside Tommy fucking Robinson. Trump is telling Starmer to deploy the goddamn military to stop the small boats.

Meanwhile, even the Guardian is calling out Labour’s “cynical, idiotic doom loop” in playing into immigration hostility. And they’re right. Labour is never going to be hostile enough to win over the Reform types – they have Farage to make ridiculous claims about deporting 600,000 migrants or whatever he’s on about now. And anyone with far-left opinions like ‘actually, immigrants are human beings’ is watching in horror as Labour obediently drags the Overton window wherever Farage tells them to.

Border security theatre

When the Home Office announced the OIOO scheme, Starmer stated that:

The days of gimmicks and broken promises are over – we will restore order to our borders with the seriousness and competence the British people deserve.

Except, that’s just what this is, isn’t it. Making a big song and dance about sending one migrant to France, flanked by three Home Office personnel, and allowing one worthy asylum seeker into the country in return is the absolute epitome of a gimmick. Home secretary Yvette Cooper added:

It is also right to make clear that – while the UK will always be ready to play its part alongside other countries in helping those fleeing persecution and conflict – this must be done in a controlled and managed legal way, not through dangerous, illegal and uncontrolled routes.

And there’s the rub. Britain simply is not playing its part to help those fleeing persecution. Variations on that ‘safe and legal‘ mantra always crop up in this discourse, but there are precious few legal routes for asylum seekers to enter thec UK. Even those are mostly for specific groups, such as Ukrainians, and are virtually inaccessible to the vast majority of people.

Outside of those few schemes, an asylum seeker can only make a claim once they’re on British soil, and there is no legal way for them to reach British soil. It’s a hell of a catch-22.

Migration justice campaign group Right to Remain also pointed out the pitiful scale of the OIOO scheme:

The current plan reportedly aims for fifty legal admissions per week in exchange for fifty removals.  This year more than 21,000 people have made the journey across the Channel so far.  Therefore, even if fully implemented, the scheme would cover only a small fraction of the people making the journey.

So, work it through with us here. The OIOO policy barely covers a fraction of people crossing the channel. It creates a route for people seeking asylum to get here – acknowledging that they have a claim to make, and therefore that we have a duty to help – but refuses to offer that help unless somebody else risks their life to get here on a dinghy.

It’s absurd, it’s racist, and it’s not winning Labour friends on any side. Unfortunately, Starmer’s never let that stop him before, now has he?

Featured image via Unsplash/Mortaza Shahed