Asylum seekers to Rwanda
Sunak puts deportation bill to vote again
April 19, 2024, 2:56 p.m
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Prime Minister Sunak wants to restrict migration to Great Britain and plans to fly asylum seekers to Rwanda. But because there are uncertainties about the country’s security, the British Supreme Court overturned the law. With a change, Sunak is making a new attempt.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak wants to push the planned law on his country’s asylum pact with Rwanda through Parliament next Monday. The conservative politician announced this after a speech on planned social reforms in London. The bill is currently stuck in the process between the lower and upper houses.
The Rwanda law is intended to overturn a ruling by the highest court in Great Britain, which declared the plans illegal. The asylum pact stipulates that people who entered the country irregularly should no longer be given the opportunity to apply for asylum in Great Britain. Instead, regardless of their origin, they should be brought to Rwanda and apply for asylum there. There are no plans to return to Great Britain.
The aim of the regulation is to prevent people from making dangerous journeys across the English Channel in small boats. However, the British Supreme Court had raised concerns about the asylum process in Rwanda. The law is now intended to declare the East African country safe per se. But the upper house is insisting on changes to the draft, for example to ensure that Rwanda is truly a safe country for asylum seekers. The government rejected the changes several times. It is expected that the Lords in the Upper House will have to give in in the end.
Sunak, who has vowed to “stop the boats,” complained on Friday that everyone had tried to stop the government from passing the law. “Our intention now is to get this done on Monday. No more excuses. No more delays. We will sit there and vote until it is done,” said the head of government.