the government says it is “ready” to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda “whatever happens”

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak assured, Monday April 22, that his government was “ready” to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda from here “ten to twelve weeks”. This controversial bill returns to parliamentarians on Monday, for what the government hopes will be a final round of debates between the two chambers before a vote in the evening.

Announced two years ago by the conservative government, and presented as a flagship measure of its policy to combat illegal immigration, this project aims to send asylum seekers to Rwanda – wherever they come from – who have entered illegally in the UK. The stakes are also electoral for Rishi Sunak, in power for eighteen months, while the conservatives are largely the losers of the looming legislative elections.

Large sums paid to Rwanda

“We are ready”, “these flights will take off, no matter what”insisted the Prime Minister on Monday during a press conference, detailing the human and material resources mobilized to organize future expulsions. “The first flight will leave in ten to twelve weeks”he insisted, admitting that the initial objective of seeing flights begin in the spring would not be met.

Backed by a new treaty between London and Kigali which notably provides for the payment of substantial sums to Rwanda in exchange for welcoming migrants, the text aims to respond to the conclusions of the Supreme Court which judged the initial project illegal in November. The text also provides that the government will be able to override a possible injunction from the European Court of Human Rights to avoid expulsions.