British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said that immigrants illegally entering the UK will now be deported immediately to the African nation of Rwanda for processing.
Under a £120million agreement with the Rwanda government, illegal immigrants will first be detained on a UK military base, then flown to Rwanda. The move is said to be an attempt to stop people smuggling and crossings of the English Channel by immigrants seeking a better life.
Campaigners have called the move barbaric and inhumane and political opponents have said the move by Boris Johnson is an attempt to deflect attention from scandals at home, including the fact he was fined earlier this week for attending parties in Downing Street during lockdown, making him the first British Prime Minister in history to be found guilty of a criminal offence while in office.
Johnson said of the new law:
"Uncontrolled immigration creates unmanageable demands on our NHS and on our welfare state, it overstretches our local schools, our housing and public transport and creates unsustainable pressure to build on precious green spaces. Nor is it fair on those who are seeking to come here legally if others can bypass the system. It's a striking fact that around seven out of 10 of those arriving in small boats last year were men under 40 paying people smugglers to queue jump and taking up our capacity to help genuine women and child refugees."
Adding:
"This is particularly perverse as those attempting crossings are not directly fleeing imminent peril, as is the intended purpose of the asylum system. They pass through manifestly safe countries, including many in Europe, where they could and should claim asylum. It's this rank unfairness of a system that can be exploited by gangs which risks eroding public support for the whole concept of asylum."
UK Border Force head, Tony Smith, said of the plan:
"If we don't do anything and we allow the business model to continue, then I'm afraid, you know, the numbers are just going to keep going up and more and more people are going to fall into the hands of human smugglers and drown. But I think, whether it will work or not, I think only time will tell."
[Based on reporting by: The Daily Mail]
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