More than 30,000 UK asylum seekers on bail under Rwanda deportation threat
GuardianJAN 25 2024
UK Sends First Failed Asylum Seeker to Rwanda
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The Facts
The UK government has reportedly paid a failed asylum seeker approximately £3K ($3.7K) to leave the country and relocate to Rwanda voluntarily.
The unnamed individual was flown to Kigali via a commercial airline on Monday as part of a voluntary scheme. This is the first time the UK has relocated a failed asylum seeker to a third country.
The news comes after the UK parliament passed the Safety of Rwanda Bill last week, enabling the deportation of asylum seekers — who have arrived illegally in the UK — to the East African country.
The Spin
Right narrative
The voluntary deportation of a failed asylum seeker to Rwanda is a symbolic victory for the UK government. However, with pressure to fulfill the promise of ending the influx of illegal migration ramping up, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak must make sure that his forcible deportation policy begins to see similar success.
Left narrative
The voluntary scheme is completely different from the controversial Rwanda plan. Despite the UK government's best attempts to portray the deportation as a victory, the reality of the expensive gimmick is clear. Paying asylum seekers £3K of taxpayers' money for leaving the country will neither stop the boats nor fix the UK's border crisis.
Metaculus Prediction
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