The Conservative government plans to outsource the reception of migrants by sending to Rwanda, in return for compensation, those who arrive illegally in England. The Prime Minister wants to pass the text before the legislative elections.
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The Conservatives in power in the United Kingdom will once again try to pass a controversial text on immigration. This impossible text is the one which plans to expel migrants who arrive on United Kingdom soil in Rwanda. The project has been on the table for two years and the conservatives have been struggling to get it voted on for two years. It returned to Parliament on Monday April 15, although it had initially been proposed by Boris Johnson.
On a technical level, the text kept going back and forth between the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The House of Commons on the right toughened the text, then the House of Lords, where the Conservatives were not in the majority, softened the law so that in the end: it was never adopted. We can add to this a more legal aspect. The English Supreme Court ruled, in November 2023, that the initial text was illegal.
Some 19,000 people affected each year
The basic idea is quite simple but not necessarily very moral, the English want to outsource the reception of migrants. It is in fact “to export” in quote migrants who arrive in England illegally and send them to Rwanda. The concept has certainly evolved since the migrants concerned are now initially voluntary. They would receive 3000 pounds sterling, or 3500 euros. Once in Rwanda, migrants would be assured of support from Kigali for five years. A British government spokesperson estimated that this could initially affect 19,000 people per year. Problem is, Rwanda is not a “safe country” as the English Prime Minister promises. Opponents of the text explain that Rwandan President Paul Kagame governs in a climate of fear, without opposition and without freedom of expression.
Despite everything, English Prime Minister Rishi Sunak does not budge, he wants to pass the text quickly. It is a symbolic text, others will say a political marker and the urgency is linked to the legislative elections which will probably be held in the second half of this year 2024, but all the polls show the Tory right losing. This text would, according to the Prime Minister, show that the government is effective in matters of immigration, especially as migrant crossings in the Channel are increasing again. They are up by more than 40% between 2023 and 2024. For the English government, the objective is to pass this cursed text, so that the English can see the departures of the first migrants before the elections.