Rishi Sunak Wins for Rwanda Migrant Deportation Plan

Britain’s plan to send migrants to Rwanda is legal, London’s High Court ruled today, in a victory for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak who has vowed to tackle record migrant arrivals in small boats.

The policy, announced in April, involves Britain sending tens of thousands of migrants who arrive on its shores more than 4,000 miles away in Rwanda.

Announcing the court’s decision, judges Clive Lewis and Jonathan Swift said it was legal for Britain to make arrangements with the Rwandan government to send asylum seekers to the country to have their asylum claims decided there.

“The (British) government has made arrangements with the government of Rwanda to ensure that the asylum claims of people transferred to Rwanda are properly decided there,” the judges said.

“In these circumstances, the transfer of asylum seekers to Rwanda is consistent with the Refugee Convention and the government’s statutory and other legal obligations, including the obligation imposed by the Human Rights Act 1998.”

After the court’s announcement, a spokesman for the British prime minister said that Britain wanted to proceed with its plan as quickly as possible.

The spokesman also said the government is ready to defend its policy against any further legal challenges.

For its part, Rwanda welcomed the decision.

“We welcome this decision and are ready to offer asylum seekers and migrants the chance to build a new life in Rwanda,” government spokeswoman Yolande Makolo told AFP, calling it a “positive” measure to resolve the global migration crisis.

Rishi Sunak is under increasing pressure from his own party MPs and public opinion to address the issue.

The figures show that at least 40,000 people — a record number — have come from France this year, many having made the journey from Afghanistan, Iran or other countries at war to countries in Europe and even Britain to seek asylum.

Immigration has often dominated the public debate in Britain over the past decade and is likely to feature prominently in the campaign for the next general election in 2024.

In one of the first major policy announcements to come, Sunak laid out a strategy to crack down on illegal immigration and said he wants to resume flights to Rwanda despite opposition from lawmakers from all major parties, the United Nations and even of King Charles.

The first flight to carry migrants to Rwanda was blocked at the last minute by an injunction from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), and the legality of the strategy was subsequently examined by the High Court in London.

Lawyers representing asylum seekers from Syria, Iraq and Iran, as well as Albania and Vietnam — challenged the Rwanda policy at a hearing this year, along with organizations such as Detention Action, Care4Calais and Asylum Aid .

A victory for the government does not mean the flights can take place immediately, as there may be further appeals in the UK courts and the ECtHR’s injunctions on summer deportations prevent any immediate deportations until legal action in the UK is concluded.

In a partial victory for applicants, the judges said Britain’s home secretary, Suella Braverman, must properly consider the circumstances of each individual asylum seeker.

The judges said a further hearing would take place on January 16 to consider possible applications for an appeal against the court’s decision.

“We are looking at the position in relation to the policy that was found to be legitimate, but we welcome the decision for individual applicants,” said Tufik Hosai, a lawyer who represented six of the eight asylum seekers.

“The court made it very clear that (the home secretary’s) approach to individual decisions was illegal and that they need to review that.”

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