Prime Minister Boris Johnson has stated that anyone arriving in the UK illegally from 14 April – or from 1 January this year – may be deported to Rwanda, where they will be offered permanent residency or returned to their country of origin. Human rights organisations have called the scheme, which aims to provide “safe and legal routes for asylum seekers while disrupting the business model of people smugglers,” “inhumane” and “cruel,” claiming that a similar offshore scheme in Australia has failed to reduce the number of arrivals. It comes as Border Force personnel prepare for up to 60,000 migrants – more than double the number seen last year – to arrive on British soil in 2022.
Home Secretary Priti Patel signed an agreement with the East African country this week to fly some people who illegally enter the UK there to seek asylum instead. The Ministry of Defence reported that in the 24 hours leading up to Friday, 181 migrants in six boats were intercepted on small boats in the Channel. During the Ukraine refugee crisis, Gillian Triggs, assistant secretary-general of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), called it “unacceptable” and a “troubling development.” According to UN estimates, more than 10 million Ukrainians have fled their homes as a result of the conflict, with more than 4 million fleeing to neighbouring countries. Ms Triggs, an Australian, was asked about her country’s similar offshore immigration system, and she stated that the plan had previously failed. She cited Israel’s abandoned plan to send Eritrean and Sudanese refugees to Rwanda, claiming they “simply left the country and started the process all over again.”
The Home Secretary is convinced that the plan is world-class and groundbreaking, and that it will serve as a model for other countries, particularly Denmark. The scheme’s cost has been called into question, with some claiming it will be more expensive than “putting migrants up at the Ritz.” Ms Patel issued a “ministerial direction” on the Rwanda plan yesterday, which means she overruled senior Home Office officials’ financial objections to it. A Home Office source told Sky News in response to the reports, “Home Office officials are clear that deterring illegal entry would result in significant savings.” Such a deterrent effect, however, cannot be quantified with certainty. Many people have objected to this plan, including the Church of England’s Leader, Justin Welby. In a stinging intervention, he will use his Easter Sunday sermon to say that deporting asylum seekers 4,000 miles from where they sought refuge is tantamount to “subcontracting our responsibilities” and the “opposite of God’s nature.”
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