Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservative government wants deportations to begin in July. A document published by the Ministry of Interior shows that Kigali accepted “in principle” to receive 5,700 asylum seekers. That group was selected from the more than 57,000 migrants who attempted to cross illegally between mainland Europe and the United Kingdom between January 2022 and June 2023.
“We want to deport that group by the end of the year,” Health Minister Victoria Atkins, who spoke on behalf of the government on Tuesday morning, confirmed to Sky News. The Home Office clarifies in a document that of the 5,700 targeted asylum seekers, 2,143 are on the Home Office’s radar. “They can be identified before their arrest,” the ministry said. The Health Minister says the government is making efforts to locate the others. “We want the message to be very clear. We will find them and deport them,” she said.
In recent days, Ireland has reported an influx of migrants from the United Kingdom. According to Dublin, the migration policy of its neighboring country is the cause.
The new law stipulates that migrants who enter the UK illegally will be deported to Rwanda, where their asylum application will be processed. A treaty about this was concluded between London and Kigali. Whatever the outcome of the asylum procedure, they will not be able to return to the UK.
