UK Begins Detention of Nigerians, Other Migrants, Set to Deport Them to African Country

• The  United Kingdom government has begun the detention of migrants in preparation for deportation to Rwanda
• The government said the move is in line with the policy of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who wants the first batch to be deported by July
• The country recently implemented rules restricting Nigerian and other care workers from bringing dependent family members

Legit.ng’s Pascal Oparada has reported on tech, energy, stocks, investment and the economy for over a decade.

The United Kindom has commenced the detaining of illegal migrants in preparation for deportation to Rwanda in line with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s new immigration policy.

Reports say the UK parliament in April approved a law allowing the sending of asylum seekers without permission in the UK to Rwanda.

UK hopes to discourage illegal migration

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Sunak is expected to call an election later this year, with illegal migration expected to be the focal point. The Prime Minister wants the first asylum seekers to be sent to Rwanda by July 2024.

Reuters reports that official figures put the number of people that have arrived in the country from France at 7,500 this year.

The UK government hopes the new immigration law will discourage people from travelling to the UK.

UK’s interior minister, James Cleverly, released photos of illegal migrants arrested and taken into custody

Cleverly said the country’s dedicated teams are working at pace to quickly detain those who have no right to be in the country.

Supreme Court rules the move illegal

Unions and rights groups opposed to the policy are gearing up to challenge the move to prevent flights from taking off to Rwanda.

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In 2023, the UK Supreme Court declared the policy unlawful, empowering opposition to the policy by unions and rights groups.

In March of this year, the UK began enforcing new rules restricting overseas care workers, including Nigerians, from bringing dependent family members.

The decision addresses the disproportionate situation in which about 120,000 dependents accompanied 100,000 workers on the care visa route in 2023.

Cleverly defended the move and stressed the need to fight visa abuse and reduce unsustainable immigration levels.

UK offers Nigerians N6 million to move to an African country

Legit.ng previously reported that the United Kingdom plans to pay asylum seekers about 3,000 pounds (N3 million) to relocate to Rwanda under a voluntary plan to help clear the backlog of refugees whose asylum applications were denied by the country.

The new agreement with Rwanda is different from the government’s aborted plan to deport most asylum seekers forcefully to the East African country.

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In 2023, the UK’s Supreme Court ruled the move unlawful.

Source: Legit.ng