THIS is the dramatic moment when the first illegal migrants who were supposed to be transferred to Rwanda were detained today.
Border officers raided homes today in a series of immigration raids to prevent asylum seekers from fleeing ahead of deportation flights in July.
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The first illegal migrants who were supposed to be transferred to Rwanda were arrested
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Police officers appeared at the front door of the migrant’s house Credits: Submitted
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Nationwide operations begin this week
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It comes after The Sun exclusively revealed that the first migrant has already been sent to KigaliCredit: Home Office
Home Secretary James Cleverly said police squads were “working swiftly” to catch them – and released pictures and video of the stabbing.
In the footage, officers are seen visiting several addresses before handcuffing the illegal migrants into the back of the van.
It comes after The Sun exclusively revealed that the first migrant has already been sent to Kigali under a parallel voluntary programme.
Mr Cleverly said: “Our partnership with Rwanda is a pioneering response to the global challenge of illegal migration and we have worked tirelessly to introduce strong new legislation to meet this.
“Our dedicated enforcement teams are working swiftly to quickly detain those who have no right to be here so we can get flights up and running.”
Rwanda’s security law finally passed last week allows illegal migrants to be detained before being transferred to the East African country.
Ministers claim they have increased detention space to 2,200 to keep them and ensure they don’t escape – as some have already done in anticipation of the plan going ahead.
The Rwanda plan is Rishi Sunak’s flagship policy to stop small boat crossings that have increased in the past year.
Today, 268 have made the deadly journey across the Channel, a quarterly increase of 27 per cent on 2023 rates.
Operational teams within the Home Office are working rapidly to secure and expeditiously detain individuals who are due to be relocated to Rwanda, with further activities to be carried out in the coming weeks.
Britain sends first migrant to Rwanda in historic move that paves way to ‘stop the boats’ and expel thousands more
The move is a key part of the plan to deliver flights to Rwanda in the next nine to eleven weeks.
This activity forms another major milestone in the Government’s wider plan to stop small boat crossings, which we have reduced by more than a third in 2023.
Rwanda’s policy will deter migrants from the dangerous journey across the channel by making it clear that if you come here illegally, you cannot stay.
It comes after Britain removed the first failed asylum seeker in Rwanda.
ANALYSIS
Author: Jack Elsom
LAST year it looked like the whole plan for Rwanda was dead and buried – but not anymore.
The videos of the detention of the first illegal migrants are the most visible sign so far that the ministers seriously intend to start flights in July.
Albeit with blurred faces, we have now seen the first asylum seekers to be forcibly deported to Kigali.
Love the plan or hate it, but two years since it was first announced, the prospect of removal flights in Rwanda now looks very real.
Yes, there will inevitably be an army of lawyers lining up to block individuals from being sent on planes.
Time will tell if Rwanda’s shiny new legislation is strong enough for the courts to reject these claims.
The political timing is useful for Mr. Sunak, who heads into local elections this Thursday looking for something to sell voters.
And open a clear line with Labor who said they would abandon the plan.
The unnamed migrant left the UK by plane on Monday night and was unpacking his bags for a new life in sunny Kigali yesterday.
It is the first time the government has moved a failed asylum seeker to a third country, in what ministers hope is the first of thousands.
After his bid to stay in Britain was rejected at the end of 2023, the man – who is of African descent – voluntarily accepted the transition to a new life in the central African nation.
He was sent on a commercial flight and handed over around £3,000 from British taxpayers to help resettle under the terms of the Rwandan accord.
The removal was part of a side scheme to the policy of forced deportation of illegal immigrants, which is due to start flying in July.
But there were sighs of relief in Whitehall last night as the first removal and processing in Rwanda went off without a hitch – in what planners called a “proof of concept” success.
A well-placed source said: “This proves that it is possible and legal for Britain to successfully and smoothly relocate failed asylum seekers to Rwanda.”
Rwanda’s first migrant paves the way for forced deportation flights
HARRY COLE, Political Editor
THIS is the first time in British history that the government has removed someone from Britain to a third country – and this will have huge and significant consequences for the legality and operational success of the plan in Rwanda.
Rwanda has become a totemic policy for the government. It is at the heart of all their migration deterrence policies.
But commentators, lawyers, opposition MPs and even government MPs said the scheme could not happen.
Once upon a time, ministers including Rishi Sunak were trying to kill the scheme saying it would not be profitable.
So this is a really important moment for the government and it couldn’t have come at a better time, really, for Mr. Sunak ahead of the local elections in May, when he is possibly facing a rebellion from the right wing of his party.
Showing that this policy can work in action is an important moment for everyone.
The last time they tried to send someone to Rwanda, the court in Strasbourg banned the flight on the runway, and the European Court of Human Rights issued an emergency injunction. It stopped the flights.
Tonight proves that it can be done theoretically and in principle.
In March, the Home Office confirmed a voluntary resettlement plan for anyone caught in Britain without the right to be here.
At the time, they said Rwanda was “willing to accept people who want to rebuild their lives and cannot stay in the UK”.
The side deal is for those who have already been through the asylum process here and have been refused permission to stay, not Channel migrants who entered illegally.
Last year, 19,000 failed asylum seekers were voluntarily removed from the UK, after being told they would never get legal migrant rights such as the right to work.
But there are still tens of thousands in the system who cannot return to their home countries for fear of persecution.
Ministers argue that it is better and cheaper to send them to Rwanda than to support them here – even after being offered cash and a one-way ticket to a new life.
Most migrants going to Rwanda will be detained during routine reporting to the contact centers of the Ministry of the Interior.
But those who fail to maintain contact will have their doors kicked in or be chased by Border Force officers if they escape.
Part of the UK’s 2,200 detention facilities is specifically ring-fenced for Rwandan migrants.
It is understood that existing detainees have been moved out to make room, although they are not believed to be dangerous foreign criminals.
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Video shows migrant being led away in handcuffs Credit: Home Office
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In March, the Home Office confirmed a voluntary resettlement scheme for anyone caught in Britain without the right to be hereCredit: Home Office
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The unnamed migrant left the UK on a plane on Monday eveningCredit: Home Office
Categories: Optical Illusion
Source: newstars.edu.vn