Well played, John Bull… well played.
LONDON — The United Kingdom approved controversial legislation on Tuesday that allows the government to send some asylum-seekers to Rwanda, with deportation flights expected to start this summer.
The so-called Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill completed its passage through the U.K. Parliament in the early morning after almost eight hours of debate overnight, clearing the way for it to soon receive royal assent and become law. The legislation, which aims to deter migrants from entering the U.K. illegally via small boats with hopes of claiming asylum once they reach the shore, had been stalled in Parliament for two months as lawmakers in both houses repeatedly proposed and rejected amendments.
U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who described the bill as “landmark legislation,” has promised that the first flights deporting illegal migrants to Rwanda, where their asylum claims will be processed, would take off in 10 to 12 weeks.
“We introduced the Rwanda Bill to deter vulnerable migrants from making perilous crossings and break the business model of the criminal gangs who exploit them,” Sunak said in a statement Tuesday. “The passing of this legislation will allow us to do that and make it very clear that if you come here illegally, you will not be able to stay. I am clear that nothing will stand in our way of doing that and saving lives.”
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The idea was first proposed in 2022 by former U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who signed a multimillion-dollar partnership with the Rwandan government introducing the idea to have illegal migrants with asylum applications “deemed inadmissible by the U.K.” flown to Rwanda instead. But the U.K. Supreme Court blocked the deportation flights last November, finding the plan “unlawful” because the government couldn’t guarantee the safety of those being transferred to Rwanda.
In response, the U.K. signed a new treaty with Rwanda that increased protections for migrants and then, last December, proposed the current legislation, which declares the East African nation to be “safe” for asylum-seekers.
N.B.: the Brit Government is Lefty. HA!!