A failed asylum seeker in the UK has gone to Rwanda under a voluntary scheme.
The man whose nationality wasn’t disclosed left the UK on a commercial flight a few days ago after being paid around £3,000 (€3,500) to relocate. This happened under the terms of a deal with the African nation that is separate from the new state powers set out in the Safety of Rwanda Act.
The Sun reports that the man, who is of African origin, claimed asylum in the UK last year but was rejected. He then accepted an offer to travel to Rwanda.
Former UKIP and Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage said people should not be “conned” by the removal.
“This African man, who did not even cross the Channel, was refused asylum and has voluntarily accepted £3,000 + free board,” he posted on X. “It won’t stop the boats.”
The deputy spokesman for the government told The Associated Press that;
”We received him yesterday and we are taking care of him,” he said. “In a few days, the asylum-seeker will tell us about his wish either to stay in Rwanda or go somewhere else.”
Kemi Badenoch, the U.K. business and trade secretary, said the asylum-seeker who chose to leave shows that Rwanda is safe for deportees.
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“We should be trumpeting it because one of the big arguments about this scheme was Rwanda wasn’t a safe country, and actually people are volunteering to go there,” Badenoch told Times Radio. “I know people who go there on holiday, a lot of people have been.”
The U.K. government hopes the deportations will deter migrants who risk their lives in leaky, inflatable boats in hopes that they will be able to claim asylum once they reach Britain.
The plan has been condemned by both the United Nations’ refugee agency and the Council of Europe.
Some rights groups say the way to stop the trafficking is for countries to work together to provide safe and legal routes for migrants, not for countries like Britain to put up barriers and outsource their problems to others. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said last week that deportation flights would begin in July.
As per the recently announced program, migrants whose claims are denied are provided with a financial incentive of up to £3,000 to relocate to the East African nation.
It is separate from the forced returns scheme the government announced two years ago.
That scheme, which has been beset by delays, is due to begin by mid-July.
Officials would not be drawn on any details, other than to say the asylum seeker had exhausted all rights to be in the UK.
Backstory
Last month, after much parliamentary back-and-forth between the House of Commons and House of Lords, the British Parliament finally passed the Safety of Rwanda Act which is designed to send asylum seekers to the African country for processing by declaring it safe.
However, there are concerns that flights under the scheme will be grounded by legal challenges. The Times reported last month that the FDA union, which represents civil servants, is expected to launch a judicial review, arguing that the Act’s power to disregard interim rulings from the European Court of Human Rights would effectively force officials to break international law.
In 2022, a flight to send asylum seekers to the country was cancelled due to an intervention from the ECHR.
The news comes as the Home Office prepares to detain the first asylum seekers for processing in Rwanda. However, it was gathered earlier this week that only 2,145 of the 5,700 migrants identified for removal can be located for detention.
Officials insisted that the remainder had not absconded but simply “cannot be immediately located.” However, Home Office sources told The Times that the threat of deportation may now “outweigh” incentives of free accommodation and a £49 weekly allowance that are offered to migrants to stop them absconding.
