It was after midnight on Tuesday when the British parliament approved the new immigration law that will allow illegal migrants to be deported to Rwanda. The proposal was presented two years ago by Boris Johnson, but has only now completed the approval process in Parliament.
With the aim of putting an end to illegal crossings of the English Channel, illegal migrants will begin to be deported to Rwanda from July, where their asylum applications will be analyzed.
It will be up to the African country to analyze asylum requests. If granted, migrants stay in Rwanda, otherwise they can try to seek asylum in another country. What they cannot do is return to the United Kingdom.
The United Nations calls on the British government to reconsider. The topic is controversial and should continue to be the subject of heated political debate and legal proceedings.
The British government has already paid 280 million euros to Rwanda, an amount that, according to the Office for National Audit, will reach 430 million in the next five years.
Many of the migrants who are already there have already started to receive warnings that they may soon be deported to Rwanda. This is the case of Massoud, who left Iran.
“I say to all asylum seekers: don’t come to the UK,” he said.
The Prime Minister has already guaranteed that he will have everything ready to apply the new law from July. An airport is prepared, there are reserved planes and hundreds of agents trained to escort migrants to Rwanda. Still, many continue to risk their lives.
