Government policy on deporting EEA rough sleepers found to be unlawful
A Home Office policy to deport rough sleepers from countries in the European Economic Area (EEA) has been ruled unlawful by the high court after a challenge brought on behalf of two Polish men and a Latvian.
Since 2016 the Home Office has designated rough sleeping as an abuse of EU free movement rights in its administrative removal policy. In Scotland, reports are that Police Scotland and the Home Office have been regularly targeting EEA rough sleepers for deportation.
The court ruled that the Home Office’s position was contrary to EU law. It also found the policy was discriminatory and amounted to an unlawful systematic verification of the EEA nationals’ rights to reside.
Hundreds of EEA nationals detained under the policy may now be entitled for compensation for unlawful detention.
Image credit: Yanni Koutsomitis, Flickr