The fate of a group of exiled islanders holed up in a Crawley hotel is to be decided this week.
West Sussex County Council refused to house the group of 30 from the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia, claiming they were not its responsibility.
Accommodating the group in the hotel has already cost the council £500,000, and that figure could rocket to more than £1 million if a High Court rules it should carry on supporting the islanders.
The council says the Government should foot the bill.
A council spokesman said: "We don't want to say to these people 'clear off', but we don't want to be in the position where we are bearing the burden of all these people just because Gatwick, the airport where they landed, is in this area.
"The Government refuses to help them."
A spokesman from the Department for Work and Pensions said: "We only deal with administering benefits. If they have not yet applied for them, supporting them in accommodation is not our responsibility."
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