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- 5 migrants drown hours after UK passes bill to send asylum seekers to Rwanda
5 migrants drown hours after UK passes bill to send asylum seekers to Rwanda
As weeks of legislative stalemate end, the law will likely send the first tranche of migrants to east Africa in July
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak‘s latest effort to send migrants to Rwanda won approval from Parliament early Tuesday after two months of stalemate. Hours after, he pledged deportation flights would begin in July, while at least five people drowned in an attempt to cross the English Channel from France.
Sunak held a rare morning press conference to demand that the Lords stop blocking his key proposal for ending the tide of migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats.
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“For almost two years, our opponents have used every trick in the book to block fights and keep the boats coming,” Sunak told reporters on Monday. “But enough is enough. No more prevarication, no more delay.”
The legislative stalemate was just the latest delay in the plan that has been repeatedly blocked by a series of court rulings and opposition from human rights activists who find the initiative illegal and inhumane.
The bill is expected to be granted royal assent later on Tuesday.
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Home Office sources told The Guardian they have already identified a group of asylum seekers with weak legal claims to remain in the UK who will become a part of the first tranche to be sent to east Africa in July.
The home secretary, James Cleverly, said it was a “landmark moment in our plan to stop the boats”. In a video posted to social media, he said: “The act will prevent people from abusing the law by using false human rights claims to block removals. And it makes clear that the UK parliament is sovereign, giving government the power to reject interim blocking measures imposed by European courts."
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Denisa Delić, director of advocacy at International Rescue Committee UK, said on Monday: “Irrespective of today’s passage of the safety of Rwanda bill, sending refugees to Rwanda is an ineffective, unnecessarily cruel and costly approach."
“Rather than outsourcing its responsibilities under international law, we urge the government to abandon this misguided plan and instead focus on delivering a more humane and orderly immigration system at home."
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Left-wing politician Jeremy Corbyn posted on his X (formerly Twitter): "The Rwanda Bill is a disgusting piece of legislation designed to demonise the world's most vulnerable people."
"This government has done everything it can to make the lives of refugees even harder," he added. "What a sorry and shameful legacy to leave behind."
Sunak has staked his political future to the deportation flights, making a pledge to “stop the boats” a key part of his pitch to voters as opinion polls show that his Conservative Party trails far behind the Labour Party ahead of a general election later this year.
Next week’s local elections are seen as a barometer for how the parties will fare in the general election.