“Removed” by the end of the year
London wants to deport thousands to Rwanda this year
April 30, 2024, 1:02 p.m
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The plan is controversial, but London is undeterred: the conservative government wants to send almost 5,700 migrants to Rwanda this year. In total, tens of thousands are at risk of deportation.
Britain plans to deport almost 6,000 people to Rwanda this year. The East African country has agreed “in principle” to take in 5,700 people who immigrated to Great Britain irregularly, the British Home Office said. Health Minister Victoria Atkins told Sky News that “this group of people” are expected to be “removed” by the end of the year.
According to the Interior Ministry, 2,143 of the 5,700 migrants can be taken into custody before their departure. Law enforcement would locate the rest, Atkins said. “If someone doesn’t come forward as they should… they will be found,” the minister added.
Last week, after a long dispute, the British Parliament approved the plan to deport migrants to Rwanda. In the future, people who entered the country irregularly should be able to be deported to Rwanda regardless of their origin and without having their asylum application examined; the East African country has been classified as a safe third country.
Tens of thousands face deportation
Immigrants who arrived in the UK between January 2022 and June last year should expect their asylum applications to be deemed inadmissible and deported to Rwanda, the Home Office said. According to official statistics, more than 57,000 people crossed the English Channel to Britain in small boats during this period.
According to the new model, asylum applications will now be examined by the Rwandan government in Kigali. If they are accepted, the refugees will be granted residency rights in the East African country and will not be able to return to Great Britain.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced last week that the first deportation flights to Rwanda should take off in ten to twelve weeks.