Rwanda and UK refugees — Part two

Back to the drawing board

This article is a follow-up to a previous article published in Medium in The Silent Politician (https://medium.com/the-silent-politician/rwanda-and-uk-refugees-e6d6905be2d3)

In the year ending December 2022, the Office of National Statistics(ONS) reported a record net migration of 745,000.

This figure includes overseas professionals, particularly NHS and care staff arriving to work. The Conservative government’s policy on immigration is clear. “Stop the boats,” and it is failing.

A flagship policy was the plan to deport asylum seekers (including refugees and illegal immigrants) to Rwanda, where their asylum claims would be assessed.

This has been a constant battle between the government and the law. Time after time, the policy has been declared unlawful.

The climax came when the UK Supreme Court unanimously judged the policy unlawful because of the danger of refoulement.

This is when immigrants are returned to their country of origin and may face discrimination, harassment, prosecution, and possibly death.

Curbing immigration has been one of the significant pillars of Conservative policy following the Brexit promise to “take back control” of the UK’s borders.