UK Passes Rwanda Deportation Bill

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Facts

• Parliament in the UK on Monday approved a bill that allows the government to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda. The legislation is expected to receive royal assent Tuesday.¹
• The bill passed after the House of Lords decided not to table any further amendments after legislators in the House of Commons rejected its two proposed changes last week.²
• The government is expected to 'get flights off the ground,' with the first deportation flights set to start 'within 10-12 weeks.'³
• The bill, drafted in 2022, provides for asylum seekers arriving illegally in the UK to be sent to Rwanda. The government hopes this will deter migrants from crossing the Channel and stop human trafficking.⁴
• However, Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the Labour Party wouldn't carry out any deportations and would instead substitute the plan with 'cross-border policing and a new returns and enforcement unit.'⁵
• This bill comes after the UK's Supreme Court called the Sunak government's plan unlawful last year. In 2022, over 45K migrants reportedly arrived in the UK via small boats, while net migration amounted to 745K.⁶

Sources: ¹Guardian, ²Dw.Com, ³GOV.UK, ⁴France 24, ⁵Independent and ⁶CNN.

Narratives

• Right narrative, as provided by World News. Approval of this landmark legislation should be a relief for Britons who will benefit from a fundamental change in dealing with global migration. The Rwanda Plan will deter vulnerable migrants from dangerous crossings and dismantle the business of criminal trafficking gangs. The Sunak government's victory will protect lives and make Britain safer.
• Left narrative, as provided by The Telegraph. Although urgent action is needed to stop criminal traffickers and strengthen the UK's borders, the Rwanda plan is not the way to achieve that. This plan is extraordinarily costly and covers just 1% of people arriving in the UK, with no blueprint for the other 99%. Britain needs a proper migration policy, not another plan representative of the Sunak government's continued failure.

Predictions