Britain continues to debate the deportation of migrants to Rwanda Britain continues to debate the deportation of migrants to Rwanda

After the Senate criticized the bill and called for changes, the House of Representatives rejected all ten proposals on Monday evening. In the next step, the bill goes back to the Senate – for the so-called ping-pong, a voting process between the two chambers of parliament.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak plans to immediately deport all migrants who enter Britain without the necessary documents to Rwanda, Africa. This is intended to discourage people from crossing the English Channel in small boats and reduce immigration. The High Court in London declared the project illegal.

Britain now wants to declare Rwanda a safe third country by law, so that an appeal to the British court is no longer possible. However, the House of Lords demanded guidelines: Britain, for example, must continue to comply with international law and first fully implement the guarantees promised to Rwanda before the country can be considered safe. Members also demanded that victims of modern slavery and human trafficking not simply be deported to Rwanda. The House of Commons rejected the proposals.

The government wants to send the first migrants to Rwanda in the spring. There they have to apply for asylum. There are no plans to return to Britain. Critics see the project as a symbolic measure at the expense of taxpayers to score points with conservative voters before the upcoming parliamentary elections. According to the Court of Auditors’ estimates, the pact will cost taxpayers up to half a billion pounds (the equivalent of around €585 million), plus payments per asylum seeker. (sda/dpa)