UK's Rwanda Bill Goes to House of Commons Amid Legal Battle

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Facts

  • A revised version of the UK government's plan to send illegal migrants to Rwanda reached the House of Commons on Monday, as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak looks to finally implement his migration plan that has been stalled for nearly two years amid ongoing legal challenges.1
  • The UK Supreme Court in November ruled that Rwanda wasn't a safe destination to send migrants, nullifying the arrangement that the UK and Rwanda signed in 2022. The lower chamber will now consider a revised bill with amendments made by the upper chamber, the House of Lords.2
  • The Conservative-controlled Commons is likely to nix the 10 amendments proposed by the Lords, meaning the measures aimed at weakening the Rwanda bill won’t be implemented because the unelected Lords cannot overrule the elected House of Commons.3
  • The Safety of Rwanda Bill could pass through Parliament this week, but deportations likely won't start until late May due to the six-to-10-week appeals process the bill grants to migrants. Kigali has said it wants to roll out the plan slowly, taking 'small numbers' of migrants.4
  • The Rwanda Bill is a core part of Sunak’s plan to 'Stop the Boats' of illegal migrants crossing into the UK via the English Channel, and the prime minister hopes to proceed with his plan. The Home Office is hoping to send its 100 deportation notices by the end of the week.4
  • While the government is determined to pass the legislation, critics — who claim deporting migrants to Rwanda is inhumane and costly — could continue to forge ahead with legal challenges, delaying implementation until after the UK’s election that will take place later this year.5

Sources: 1FOX News, 2ABC News, 3Associated Press, 4The Telegraph and 5Yahoo News.

Narratives

  • Left narrative, as provided by ITV News. Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda plan is an inhumane piece of legislation that his government is looking to pass as a vanity project ahead of this year’s elections. If Sunak's goal was to create the most dehumanizing and inefficient plan to tackle asylum seekers, then he couldn't have done a better job. However, from a political perspective, he has failed. Sunak has made it clear that he doesn't care about migrants living in the UK and doesn't care if people's family members and friends are shipped to an unsafe place.
  • Right narrative, as provided by GB News. Tackling the migrant crisis in the UK is one of Britain's top priorities, however, Rishi Sunak has utterly failed his constituents by proposing a weak and wasteful plan that will do little to actually protect the nation. It's unfortunate that a Conservative prime minister has done so little to meaningfully address a migrant crisis, and it seems like Sunak is pushing legislation that he knows will fail. Conservative Brits know that the Tories are failing them, and it is time for a real UK-first movement to supplant the milquetoast Sunak regime.
  • Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by The Telegraph. This bill has been a long-awaited solution to help stem a tide of unsustainable immigration to the UK. Even with revisions and legal challenges, deportations will start in the next two months with support from Rwanda.

Predictions