Trump considers copying Tory party's Rwanda policy in bid to crackdown on migrant crisis

“Trump campaigned on a promise to crack down on illegal immigration - and he is determined to stick to it," a source close to Trump’s team told the Sun.

“His team is looking at the Rwanda scheme. He is considering deporting illegal migrants to Rwanda and other countries so they cannot stay on American soil.”

Despite the plan being ditched after Sir Keir Starmer entered Downing Street, allies of Donald Trump have said that he is contemplating the deportation of illegal immigrants to several countries - one of which is Rwanda.

Before his resounding election victory, the President-elect fought a campaign based on border protection and cracking down on illegal immigration, accusing the Biden administration of falling short on their promises.

Illegal crossings made between the US-Mexico border hit record levels under Joe Biden, although numbers have decreased more recently.

Although the specific number is challenging to define, US border official have recorded migrant “encounters” - referring to an encounter with illegal migrants, as well as with those who attempted to migrate via legal routes but were considered inadmissible.

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Since January 2021 - when Biden entered office - border officials have recorded ten million encounters - with eight million over the Mexican border.

In comparison, during Trump’s first administration, there were 2.4 million encounters between this border - although this figure has not factored in the global pandemic, which would have been partly responsible for a drop in numbers.

The scheme under the Conservative Government - introduced while Priti Patel was serving as Home Secretary - sought to reduce the number of illegal Channel crossings, put a halt to people smuggling, while boosting Rwandan investment.

The then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that the plan would break the business model of “vile people smugglers”.

In the Rwanda deal, the UK Government promised to pay the Rwandan state £370million to deport hundreds of illegal immigrants there.

However, when Starmer took office, he worked with the current Home Secretary Yvette Cooper to bin the scheme, declaring the plan “dead and buried” on his first day in Number 10.

Throughout Labour’s campaign, they lamented over the policy's cost, which was estimated to be around £310million.

Now, Yvette Cooper has introduced a UK Border Security Command to provide a strategic direction, working across the National Crime Agency, intelligence agencies, police and Immigration Enforcement and Border Force which is meant to protect British borders, although it has since received widespread criticism for its effectiveness - or lack thereof.