UK Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, asserts that the UK’s proposed ‘Rwanda plan’ is already starting to deter migrants from coming to the country. The scheme aims to relocate asylum seekers arriving in the UK to Rwanda, an eastern African nation, an act hoped to discourage others from making perilous crossing attempts via the English Channel.
Responding to recent criticism by Irish Tánaiste Micheál Martin over rising influx of migrants fearing deportation into the republic by bypassing the northern Irish border, Sunak said his focus remains on the “security of UK borders.” He revealed that his ambitious strategy may inspire other nations to form “third country partnerships” in an attempt to tackle global illegal immigration.
Sunak expressed his belief in the impact of the scheme during his discussion with Trevor Phillips on Sky News’s Sunday Morning, set to be aired on Sunday. He emphasised how the fear associated with the plan is already dissuading potential migrants. “If migrants arrive illegally but are aware they can’t stay,” he explained, “they’re less likely to come, hence the importance of the Rwanda scheme.”
Despite Downing Street dismissing claims last Friday that the Rwanda plan has already influenced migration into Ireland, terming it premature to draw conclusions about its effect, Martin appears to disagree. From Dublin, he added, “There has clearly been an upsurge in the number of people entering from Northern Ireland into the Republic, a fact likely linked to the ‘Rwanda policy’ even though no one has been sent there yet.”
The legal propriety of the plan has already been authenticated as the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Act successfully navigated the UK parliament, attaining legal status on Thursday.
In my opinion, what I’m about to say is entirely reasonable. I’m not pointing fingers or laying blame; there are many more complexities to consider. However, a representative from Number 10 shared with members of the press in Westminster that it would be premature to make definitive conclusions on the implications of the Act and treaty on migrant behaviours.
Naturally, we will be keeping a close eye on this, collaborating extensively with the Irish Government as one would anticipate, with asylum issues included. The aim of the Act is to function as a deterrent, a point underscored by our efforts to expedite the flight processes as much as we can.
This week, Mr Sunak accepted that it might take anywhere from 10 to 12 weeks for flights to begin operations, a setback from his original goal of launching in the ‘spring’ of this year.
In previous discussions this week, members of the Ministry have hinted at an increase in migrant activity across the Northern Ireland and Republic border. The Justice Minister, Helen McEntee, has reported that the share of migrants coming via Northern Ireland is now “over 80 percent”.