Over 33,000 migrants could be deported to Rwanda from the UK, according to new Home Office figures released today.
Since July 2023, ministers have gained powers to detain any illegal migrants and deport them to a third safe country such as Rwanda.
Under Rishi Sunak’s “Stop the Boats” legislation, applications can be declared “inadmissible” and asylum seekers will be sent to Rwanda.
However, flights are currently grounded after the Supreme Court ruled that the policy was unlawful.
Under Rishi Sunak’s “Stop the Boats” legislation, applications can be declared “inadmissible” and asylum seekers will be sent to Rwanda
PA
The Prime Minister is hoping to secure the first flights to the third safe country in spring of this year.
He is currently facing opposition from across his party, which restricts the rights of migrants to challenge their deportation.
Yet, even if Sunak is able to get flights off the ground, the numbers of those deported would be small to begin with.
James Eadie, the Government’s lawyer, told judges at the Supreme Court it would be “limited” at the start.
Speaking of the five-year Rwanda agreement, Sir James said: “Both participants recognise the need for capacity building: the UK has provided funds for the same, the Rwandan authorities have taken measures in terms of recruitment and training, and the numbers are, initially, low.”
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Braverman visiting the potential migrant housing estate in Kigali, Rwanda
PAThe Refugee Council has calculated that Rwanda has the capacity to house no more than 10,000 a year.
Once the scheme gets off the ground, this would leave 25,000 asylum seekers a year left in limbo.
The Home Office figures were published following the department's claim that it had met its target of clearing a backlog of migrant claims.
In December 2022, Sunak pledged he would “abolish” the legacy backlog of migrant claims before the end of 2023.
Legacy cases refer only to people in the asylum system on 28 June 2022, the day when new asylum rules came into force.
The Government said that Sunak’s “commitment of clearing the legacy asylum backlog has been delivered”, having processed more than 112,000 claims overall this year.
However, 4,537 cases remain unprocessed, according to the Government’s official data.
In December 2022, Sunak pledged he would “abolish” the legacy backlog of migrant claims before the end of 2023
PASunak’s spokesperson said that the all the cases have been reviewed, and the remaining ones simply “require additional work”.
The spokesperson said: “We committed to clearing the backlog, that is what the government has done. We are being very transparent about what that entails.
“We have processed all of those cases and indeed gone further than the original commitment. We're up to 112,000 decisions made overall.
“As a result of that process, there are a small minority of cases which are complex and which, because of our rigorous standards, require further work.
“But nonetheless, it is a significant piece of work by Home Office officials to process such huge numbers in a short period of time while retaining our rigorous safety standard.”
Home Secretary James Cleverly said that it was “impossible” to say how long it will take to get through outstanding asylum cases.
However, he added that the Government was improving the system by hiring “more people”, refining “processes” and implementing “real accountability”.