The new agreement with Rwanda is separate from the British government’s stalled plan to forcibly deport most asylum seekers to the East African country
People, believed to be migrants, stand on a British Border Force vessel as they arrive at Port of Dover, Dover, Britain, on Jan. 17.The British government is planning to pay asylum seekers up to 3,000 pounds each to move to Rwanda under a voluntary plan to help clear the backlog of refugees who have had their applications to remain in the country rejected.
Kevin Hollinrake, a junior business minister, said on Wednesday the new policy was a good use of public money because it was cheaper than the cost of looking after people in Britain who had been denied asylum, but not yet removed. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has invested huge amounts of political capital in a promise to stop the arrival of asylum seekers who arrive without permission on England’s southern coast in small, inflatable boats.