UK to relocate illegal migrants to Rwanda under new strategy

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a new immigration strategy on Thursday, which will see many migrants entering the UK illegally flown out to the African nation of Rwanda.

Johnson said that as part of efforts to make asylum-seeking routes to the UK safe and legal, the Royal Navy will take over operational command from the Border Force in the English Channel, which has over the years seen increased numbers of small boats smuggling migrants illegally into the UK.

Under a new Migration and Economic Development Partnership, anyone caught entering the UK illegally, as well as those who have already entered the country illegally from January 1 this year, could be relocated to Rwanda.

“The deal we have done is uncapped and Rwanda will have the capacity to resettle tens of thousands of people in the years ahead,” Johnson said in a speech at an airport in Kent, south-east England.

“This innovative approach – driven our shared humanitarian impulse and made possible by Brexit freedoms – will provide safe and legal routes for asylum, while disrupting the business model of the gangs, because it means that economic migrants taking advantage of the asylum system will not get to stay in the UK, while those in genuine need will be properly protected, including with access to legal services on arrival in Rwanda, and given the opportunity to build a new life in that dynamic country, supported by the funding we are providing,” he said.

“And let’s be clear, Rwanda is one of the safest countries in the world, globally recognised for its record on welcoming and integrating migrants,” he added.

UK Home Secretary Priti Patel will sign the Migration and Economic Development Partnership with Rwanda during an ongoing visit to the east African nation and is expected to set out further details.

The initial cost of the programme is estimated at around GBP 120 million.

The UK move comes ahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) scheduled in the Rwandan capital Kigali in June.

“Before the pandemic, in 2018, the IMF said Rwanda was the world’s fourth fastest-growing economy,” noted Johnson.

The new plan is aimed at ending what the UK government says is the "barbaric trade in human misery", caused by people traffickers in the English Channel, as dangerous crossings in makeshift boats and dinghies reach around 1,000 people a day in a few weeks.

Boris Johnson said the government is confident the new measures are fully compliant with international legal obligations, but admitted that he expects this may be challenged in the courts.

“So, I know that this system will not take effect overnight, but I promise that we will do whatever it takes to deliver this new approach, initially within the limits of the existing legal and constitutional frameworks, but also prepared to explore any and all further legal reforms which may be necessary,” he said.

Charities have expressed concerns over flying out migrants and asylum seekers 6,000 miles away.

The British Red Cross said it was "profoundly concerned" about sending "traumatised people halfway around the world".