Illegal migrants are now being detained across Britain as authorities prepare to relocate them to Rwanda within the next nine to eleven weeks, the government announced on Wednesday.
After a lengthy opposition, Parliament gave legal backing to Prime Minister Sunak’s long-standing plan to transfer asylum seekers to Rwanda if they entered Britain illegally. He is now targeting July for the first set of flights to leave the UK.
With thousands of migrants having crossed the Channel via small boats already this year, the government is convinced the policy will serve as a deterrent and dissuade refugees from embarking on the potentially dangerous journey.
Five people were killed while attempting the crossing last week.
There is still firm opposition to the policy from human rights organisations with legal fireworks expected to prevent the flights from proceeding, especially after the UK Supreme Court ruled last year that the policy was unlawful.
UK’s interior ministry shared pictures on Wednesday that appeared to show individuals being apprehended by immigration officials.
“Our dedicated enforcement teams are working diligently to promptly apprehend those without lawful status so that we can expedite the departure of flights,” Interior Minister James Cleverly said in a statement on the same day.
First Refugee Arrives in Rwanda
An unsuccessful asylum-seeker in the U.K. has voluntarily arrived in Rwanda, an official said.
The man, whose nationality was not disclosed, arrived under the voluntary scheme which is separate from the Safety of Rwanda Bill. Under the voluntary scheme the government says it would pay asylum seekers up to 3,000 pounds each to relocate to Rwanda to help reduce the number of refugees who have arrived in the country.
