British Prime Minister Sunak's controversial bill to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda could be passed this week. The House of Commons rejected all amendments.
Britain's Conservative government will not let itself be dissuaded from its plans to deport migrants to Rwanda regardless of their actual origin.
Quite the opposite: British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's controversial bill could be passed this week. After the lower house rejected all amendments, the bill will now be put to a vote in the upper house of parliament on Wednesday. If passed without changes, it could come into force this week.
The upper house had previously criticized the bill and called for changes. But in the evening the House of Commons rejected all ten motions. In the next step, the bill goes back to the upper house – for the so-called ping-pong, a voting process between the two chambers of parliament.
The Supreme Court had declared the project illegal
Sunak plans to immediately deport all migrants who enter Britain without the necessary documents to Rwanda, Africa. This is intended to deter people from crossing the English Channel in small boats and reduce immigration. The Supreme Court in London declared the project illegal.
Great Britain now wants to declare Rwanda a safe third country by law so that objections to British courts are no longer possible. However, the House of Lords demanded guidelines: for example, Great Britain must continue to comply with international law and first fully implement the guarantees promised to Rwanda before it can be considered safe. The members also demanded that victims of modern slavery and human trafficking not be allowed to be deported to Rwanda without further ado. The House of Commons overruled the proposals.
Critics agree with the plan Election campaign maneuvers
The government wants to send the first migrants to Rwanda in the spring. They should ask for asylum there. There are no plans to return to Great Britain. But even if the law is passed quickly, it could still be weeks before the first deportation flights start. The bill is intended to prevent British courts from deciding whether Rwanda is a safe country. However, each person being deported can still take legal action individually.
Critics see the government's plan as a symbolic measure at the expense of taxpayers in order to score points with conservative voters before the upcoming parliamentary election. According to the Court of Auditors' estimates, the pact costs taxpayers up to half a billion pounds (the equivalent of around 585 million euros), plus payments per asylum seeker.
