LONDON: Britain expected to deport 5,700 migrants to Rwanda this year, a senior minister said Tuesday, after the government released new details on the controversial plan, AFP reported.
The figures come days after the scheme devised for deterring migrant arrivals on small vessels from northern Europe became law following months of parliamentary debates.
The interior ministry said late Monday that Rwanda has “in principle” agreed to accept 5,700 migrants already in Britain, AFP reported.
Of those, 2,143 can be located for detention before being flown there, the ministry said.
When asked about the 5,700 earmarked for deportation on Tuesday, Health Secretary Victoria Atkins said that law enforcement agencies will find the remainder.
She told Sky News television that the expectation is that the government would remove that group of people by the end of the year.
Migrants who arrived in Britain between January 2022 and June 2023 are liable to have their asylum claims deemed inadmissible and be shifted to Rwanda, the interior ministry said.
Over 57,000 Migrants Arrived in Britain in 18 Months
Over 57,000 people arrived on small boats after trying to cross the Channel during this eighteen-month period, according to official data.
The statistics highlighted the scale of the challenge trying to stop irregular arrivals, and the limits of the government’s contentious plan to shift some of them to Rwanda.
Under the scheme — set to cost British taxpayers hundreds of millions of pounds — their asylum claims will be examined by Kigali.
If approved, they will be allowed to stay in Rwanda and not return to Britain.
