Less than 200 people who came to the UK without a permit would have been sent to Rwanda last year, an analysis of government data found.
The Refugee Council said 172 people could be sent to the East African country if there was an agreement. According to him, this year the number will probably not be much higher.
The figures call into question Boris Johnson’s claim that “tens of thousands” of people who arrived in the UK without permission could receive a one-way ticket to Rwanda.
People eligible for deportation to Rwanda will be those who will be considered “inadmissible” under the rules of the UK’s asylum system. The rules introduced in January 2021 apply to those who have arrived in the United Kingdom via another “safe” country, such as France, and therefore their asylum application is considered their responsibility.
So far, only 2% of the people treated under the rules have ultimately received decisions classifying them as inadmissible, according to data from the Interior Ministry, released by the Refugee Council.
According to an analysis of 8,593 people examined under rules by the Interior Ministry last year, only 172 would be considered inadmissible.
Johnson said this month that he expects many people to fly 4,500 miles to Rwanda. “The deal we have made is unlimited and Rwanda will have the capacity to settle tens of thousands of people in the coming years,” he said.
Government plans to punish people who have been forced to make irregular trips to Britain could lead to thousands of asylum seekers being convicted and imprisoned.
According to the bill on nationality and borders, which is in its final stage in parliament, the analysis suggests that 19,288 people could be convicted and imprisoned each year for arriving in the UK on an irregular route.
The proposal was widely condemned as inhumane, illegal, unfeasible and prohibitively expensive. Critics include Tory MPs and colleagues, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Archbishop of Canterbury, who said in his Easter sermon that the scheme “does not stand up to God’s judgment”.
Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, said: “This analysis shows the real impact that this bill will have on desperate men, women and children who are simply trying to find safety when fleeing the dangers of war and the persecution.
“Punishing people, treating them as criminals and human beings who must be expelled to Rwanda is not only inhuman, cruel and nasty, but it will do nothing to address the reasons why people take dangerous journeys to find safety in the United Kingdom. This will do little to deter them from coming to this country, but will only lead to more human suffering and chaos – with a huge potential cost of nearly a billion pounds each year.
The bill, if passed, would create a new crime that would apply to anyone caught in the canal without prior permission to enter the UK. People prosecuted under the new law could face up to four years in prison.
The Refugee Council uses data from the Ministry of the Interior and the Royal Public Prosecutor’s Office to estimate that up to 19,288 people could be convicted and imprisoned each year, according to the changes. It is estimated that the cost of prosecution and imprisonment could reach £ 835 million a year.
The estimate is based on the number of people crossing the English Channel last year, the assumption that the government will seek to prosecute anyone arriving illegally, and the percentage of those convicted by 69% over the past five years for similar crimes under existing law.
A spokesman for the Home Office said: “This world-leading partnership for migration and economic development will review our shattered asylum system, which currently costs UK taxpayers £ 1.5 billion a year – the highest of two decades.
“Under this agreement, Rwanda will process claims in accordance with national and international human rights law. This means that those who arrive dangerously, illegally or unnecessarily can be relocated to have their asylum applications processed and, if recognized as refugees, build their lives there.
“We do not recognize the figures obtained from this analysis. The agreement is not limited in terms of the number of people who can be sent to Rwanda.
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