UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said people entering the country illegally can only be deterred by the new measure of sending them to the African country of Rwanda upon their arrival.
The speech was made this Wednesday (19), during the electoral campaign for the British general election on July 4, as illegal immigration reaches new records.
Labor party leader Keir Starmer called the action a “trick” and highlighted that the current Conservative government has “lost control” of the country’s borders.
Starmer added that if he is elected, a specialized task team would bring together officials from the police, domestic intelligence agency and prosecutors to work with international agencies to bust the gangs behind people smuggling.
More than 800 asylum seekers arrived in the UK in small boats on Tuesday (18), the highest number in a single day since the end of 2022.
“Stopping the boats” and curbing illegal migration has been one of the main promises of Sunak, who is far behind the opposition Labor party in election polls. That’s because immigration is a big concern for some voters.
Last week, lawyers representing the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) argued in a British court that sending asylum seekers to Rwanda put them at risk, in a process known as “refoulement”, in which asylum seekers are sent for territories where they may be threatened for various reasons, including religion, race, among others.
The lawyers also argued based on previous evidence that formed an important part of the UK Supreme Court’s reasoning when it ruled last year that the British plan was unlawful.
Source: CNN Brasil
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