British Court of Appeal Rules Rwanda Asylum Seeker Transfer Plan Illegal

On Thursday, the British Court of Appeal issued its final ruling declaring the government's plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda illegal. The UK government aimed to send asylum seekers to Rwanda, located in East Africa, to prevent illegal crossings of migrants through the English Channel. Last year, the High Court in London deemed the government's plan legal, but it faced opposition from refugee rights charities and a ruling from the European Court of Human Rights. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Home Secretary Suella Braverman are staunch supporters of the forced transfer plan to East Africa. The Sunak government had agreed last year to expel thousands of migrants to Rwanda, over six thousand kilometers away. The government considered this plan crucial to stop the influx of asylum seekers arriving by small boats, primarily from France. Sunak, under pressure from some of his Conservative Party lawmakers and public opinion, has made tackling the wave of asylum seekers one of his top five priorities. In the UK, lawyers representing a group of asylum seekers argued in the London Court of Appeal that the plan to send migrants to Rwanda is illegal because the East African country is not a 'safe country.' Additionally, last December, the High Court in London had declared this policy legal, but this decision has been contested by asylum seekers from countries including Syria, Sudan, Iraq, Iran, and Vietnam, as well as some human rights organizations. Last year, 45,000 people reached the UK by small boats across the Channel. So far this year, over 11,000 have entered the UK through this route. The cost of deporting each asylum seeker to Rwanda is reported to be £169,000.