That is the core of a new, controversial plan that British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak presented on Tuesday. Boat migrants who still reach the British coast will be detained and deported to a safe country.
According to the Mail on Sunday, which interviewed Prime Minister Sunak, once deported boat migrants will never be able to settle in the United Kingdom or obtain British nationality. The conservative government hopes to deter potential boat migrants with this measure.
“Make no mistake,” the Prime Minister said. “If you enter illegally, you will not be able to stay.”
Last year, then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson already reached an agreement with Rwanda to deport asylum seekers there. However, the first flight with asylum seekers was blocked by legal challenges, and there is still a legal battle over the plan. The London court ruled in December that the measure is lawful, but opponents are challenging that decision.
45,000 asylum seekers crossed the Channel
Sunak is sticking to the Rwanda plan and hopes the new measures will help curb boat migration. “Our laws will be simple, both in terms of intent and in practice – the only route to the UK will be a safe and legal one,” said his Home Secretary, Suella Braverman.
Last year, more than 45,000 asylum seekers reached the British coast in boats. The arrival of migrants, many of whom are housed in hotels, causes tensions and protests in some places. There was an anti-asylum seeker demonstration in Dover on Saturday. Polls show that illegal immigration is a major concern of voters. Sunak is under pressure, also from politicians in his own Conservative Party, to do something about it. The Prime Minister will visit French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Friday to discuss the plan with him.
Meanwhile, the measures are facing practical, legal, and political hurdles. The British government argues that there will be other legal ways for migrants to apply for asylum. But it is unclear what those ways will look like. Currently, something like that only exists to a limited extent for Ukrainians, Afghans, and people from Hong Kong.
It is also unclear which countries are willing to take in the deported migrants. In addition, it is unknown where the migrants will be detained. The government is considering using vacant former military barracks, but they will probably need to be renovated first.
Desperate attempt to escape
Refugee organizations fear that legitimate asylum seekers from countries such as Syria and Eritrea will be detained for a long time, as if they are criminals. “The majority of men, women, and children who cross the Channel do so because they are desperately trying to escape war, conflict, and persecution,” said a spokesperson for the Refugee Council in The Times. “It is unworkable, expensive, and will not stop the boats.”
If Sunak goes ahead with the plan, he will be pushing the boundaries of what is allowed by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). Some Conservatives say that the UK should withdraw from the ECHR if necessary. But the Prime Minister would rather not. He says the plan is “legally watertight.”
According to the immigration staff union, there is a good chance that, if the law comes into force, asylum seekers will again be smuggled into the UK more by truck. And the left-wing opposition party Labour is critical.
Labour recognizes that something needs to be done to tackle illegal immigration but doubts whether the newly announced plan will work. “They’ve said before that they had plans and legislation that would deal with this problem,” said Labour MP Jonathan Ashworth on Sky News. But nothing came of their promises. In reality, we see more and more boats arriving, and the people smugglers are getting away with more.”
