Mumtaz Moosa | mumtazs@icloud.com
09:03:2023 | 15:00 PM CAT
1 min read

Photo Credit: VOA News

For years the British government had been wrestling with how to deal with the migration crisis it faced, as many migrants enter the UK illegally, often in small inflatable boats. In 2016 Britain’s push to exit the European Union was meant to end uncontrolled immigration, but it failed.

Last year former Prime minister Boris Johnson agreed to a deal to send tens of thousands of migrants, many of them feeling in Syria, Afghanistan, and other war-torn countries, more than 6 400 KM away from the UK to Rwanda.

There is a logistical question raised by critics and legal challenges as well.

The government plans to house people in disused military bases and vacation parks. But there are questions about whether the government can detain people in these centres.

The logistical questions are about how Britain could remove thousands of people from the country each year and where they would go.

Rwanda only had one hostel to accept UK arrivals last year, with a capacity for 100 people, a fraction of those who have arrived in the UK via boat.

Some lawyers believe barring undocumented people arriving in Britain from claiming asylum would be incompatible with the United Nations Refugee Convention.

The refugee council has stated that the new plans are “unworkable”, costly for those who have lost everything, and won’t stop the boats from coming.

Governments worldwide are facing similar challenges regarding dealing with the influx of refugees. Britain is the latest country to outsource the settlement of asylum seekers.

Denmark has signed a similar agreement with Rwanda but has not yet sent migrants.