The first group of people will be briefed this week on the government’s intention to send them to Rwanda under its controversial relocation scheme, the interior ministry said.
According to plans announced last month, people arriving illegally in the UK across the English Channel and other routes will be detained and sent to the East African nation to apply for asylum there.
The government has said it expects tens of thousands of people to be relocated under the scheme, although the plans face legal challenges from charities and campaigns.
The Home Office said people who had arrived in the UK after crossing the English Channel would be among the first groups to be informed that it planned to send them to Rwanda. He added that he expects the first flights to take place in the coming months.
In a statement, Home Secretary Priti Patel said: “Britain’s asylum system has been disrupted as criminals exploit and transport people into our country at huge cost to taxpayers in the UK.
“The world’s leading migration partnership with Rwanda means that those who make dangerous, unnecessary and illegal trips to the UK can be relocated to Rwanda to have their asylum claims considered and rebuild their lives there, helping to break the business model of human smugglers and prevent loss of life.
“This is only the first stage of the process and we know it will take time, as some will try to thwart the process and delay the removal. I will not hesitate to act to bring about the changes that the British voted for in order to regain control of our money, laws and borders. “
The first lawsuit against the scheme began last week. The challenge by InstaLaw said the proposals contradicted international law and the UN refugee convention, as well as violated British data protection law.
The case focuses on an Iranian asylum seeker who believes he will face an extremely difficult time if sent to Rwanda.
On Friday, Patel’s speech at a Conservative party dinner was interrupted by a group of refugee activists. Shortly after Patel began speaking, eight Green New Deal Rising activists stood up one by one, urging her to abandon the scheme, calling it “racist” and “inhuman.”
In response to Monday’s announcement, Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, said: “The government’s desire to treat people as a human burden and expel them to Rwanda is not only cruel, nasty and unprincipled, but also completely unfeasible and key details missing. Given this, it is not surprising that it faces legal challenges.
“Instead of pursuing a harmful policy that destroys our reputation as a country that values human rights, this government must focus on the functioning of an orderly, humane and fair asylum system and the development of safe routes such as humanitarian visas.
Tim Naor Hilton, CEO of Refugee Action, called the plans a “quick hardship” scheme that ignored “refugees risking their lives to come to the UK for things that make us all feel safer, like family.” , friends, community and language ”.
“Priti Patel herself has admitted that the lack of safe routes pushes people into the hands of smugglers, but she refuses to expand existing schemes or create new ones,” he said.
“Ministers must abandon their hostile policies and create more security paths for people fleeing war and persecution, such as expanded family reunification and a long-term resettlement program for refugees that accepts at least 10,000 people a year.
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