UK Begins Detaining Migrants Set to Be Deported to Rwanda
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - British authorities have started to detain migrants in preparation for them to be sent to Rwanda in the next nine to 11 weeks, the government said on Wednesday, laying the groundwork for UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's flagship immigration policy.
A law to pave the way for sending asylum seekers to Rwanda if they arrived in Britain without permission was approved by parliament in April, and Sunak wants the first flights to take off in July, Reuters reported.
More than 7,500 migrants have arrived in England on small boats from France so far this year, and the government says the policy will deter people from making dangerous journey across the Channel. Five people died trying to make the crossing last week.
Human rights charities and unions opposed to the policy are expected to launch fresh legal challenges to stop the flights from taking off after the UK Supreme Court declared the policy unlawful last year.
Images released by Britain's interior ministry on Wednesday showed a man being put in a van by immigration enforcement officials, and another being led out of his house in handcuffs.
Britain sent its first asylum seeker to Rwanda under a voluntary scheme, The Sun Newspaper reported on Tuesday, a separate program to the deportation policy.
