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A East African individual has been transported from the UK under the government's “one in, one out” arrangement with France, after a last-minute court attempt to delay the departure did not succeed.

This marks the second Channel-crossing migrant to be sent back to French soil under this policy, and the person was escorted by Home Office officials on a air journey from Heathrow Airport to Paris.

This deportation comes a little over a month after the British and French governments finalized a 12-month trial program involving the exchange of migrants in an attempt to discourage illegal crossings.

Initial flight under the agreement returned one person, an Indian national, to French territory on Thursday.

This individual, wearing a white hoodie, was escorted by three officials displaying Home Office passes as the flight took off at early morning UK time.

The Interior Minister commented that the initial deportation shows to those attempting small boat journeys that “if you enter the UK without authorization, we will seek to deport you”.

The Eritrean man reached England on a small boat in August.

Legal representatives had argued that he could have been a target of human trafficking.

In a ruling after a three-hour urgent court session, the presiding judge declared there was no legal justification to delay the removal of the unnamed man.

He noted there was “significant public interest” in removing him, adding that the home secretary was pursuing a policy to tackle dangerous human trafficking.

He would instead have an opportunity to present his situation in the French system.

“No valid argument to be tried in this matter that the claimant has been refused procedural fairness,” said the judge.

He claimed he fled his nation of origin in recent years due to mandatory military service—and spent time in a neighboring country, another African nation, and Libya before entering Europe.

He claimed he had stayed in France, sleeping rough, and finally made his way to northern France to try to cross to England.

However, in his decision, the judge noted that the man had provided differing accounts of his claims of exploitation, making it justifiable for the home office to determine that “his story of slavery could not reasonably be believed”.

The decision was issued just hours after the Home Office changed its guidelines on how to process modern day slavery claims from English Channel migrants, making it harder for them to oppose being sent to French jurisdiction.

This change means that a person who is denied asylum in the UK because of slavery may only appeal that decision once they have been deported of the UK.

The rule change also followed a separate case in which another Eritrean man facing return to France secured a temporary delay on modern slavery grounds.

UK authorities said it would challenge that decision.

That same day, American leader commented on unauthorized migration to the UK during his official trip.

During a press conference with the UK Prime Minister, he proposed deploying the military to address small boat crossings.

The Prime Minister responded by affirming that the UK had “a number of bilateral agreements with other countries” in effect and that the administration is taking the matter “incredibly seriously”.

The Home Office indicates that additional removals are planned in the near future, but it is not clear how many individuals will be booked on each flight because of active court appeals—or potential of them.

Approximately 100 individuals are currently in detention facilities near Heathrow under the program. All was detained after entering the UK on a small boat and told they were potentially eligible to be sent back to French territory.

This “reciprocal” deal is intended to deter people from turning to traffickers to cross the Channel because of the risk they could be returned.

The terms suggest that, for each asylum seeker the UK sends back to French authorities, a different individual with a strong case for asylum in the UK will come in exchange.

Neither government has claimed that the plan will eliminate the crossings on its by itself.

Approximately 5,590 migrants have arrived in the UK since the scheme came into effect at the start of August.