UK began to detain migrants to be deported to Rwanda
The British authorities have started to detain migrants, preparing to send them to Rwanda in the next 9-11 weeks, with parliament approving last month a law that paves the way for sending asylum seekers to Rwanda if they arrive in Britain without permission, Reuters reports
Images released by the British Home Department on May 1st show one person being put into a van by immigration officers and another being led out of the house in handcuffs.
“Our dedicated enforcement teams are working at pace to swiftly detain those who have no right to be here so we can get flights off the ground,” Interior Minister James Cleverley said in a statement.
One of the trade unions representing civil servants who may be tasked with helping implement this policy said it had launched legal proceedings because its members were potentially being asked to violate international law.
“Civil servants should never be left in a position where they are conflicted between the instructions of ministers and adhering to the Civil Service Code, yet that is exactly what the government has chosen to do,” Secretary General of the FDA union Dave Penman noted.
Over 7,500 migrants arrived in England on small boats from France this year. The government argues that the new law will deter people from making the dangerous journey across the English Channel. Last week, five people died trying to swim across the strait.
