Within weeks, the UK will begin deporting migrants to Rwanda where their asylum status shall be processed.
On Monday night a contentious Rwanda-law was finally passed after a ping-pong flexing between the House of Commons and the house of Lords.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said, “The passing of this landmark legislation is not just a step forward but a fundamental change in the global equation on migration.”
“We introduced the Rwanda Bill to deter vulnerable migrants from making perilous crossings and break the business model of the criminal gangs who exploit them,” Sunak added.
Home Secretary James Cleverly said the Bill “will become law within days. The Act will prevent people from abusing the law by using false human rights claims to block removals.”
“And it makes clear that the UK Parliament is sovereign, giving the Government the power to reject interim blocking measures imposed by European courts,” added Cleverly.
“I promised to do what was necessary to clear the path for the first flight. That’s what we have done,” he said.
“Now we’re working day in and day out to get flights off the ground,” a determined Cleverly said.
The House of Lords had been engaged in an extended tussle over the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill on Monday, sending it back to the Commons five times in a bid to secure changes.
Illegal migration minister Michael Tomlinson said the Government was prepared for ‘inevitable’ legal challenges to the Rwanda scheme.
He told Times Radio: ‘It’s inevitable. I’m afraid that there will be challenges.. There are people who don’t like this policy… the Labour lords, as we saw last night and the Labour Party, there are people who are determined to do whatever it takes to try and stop this policy from working.’
The legislation and a treaty with Rwanda are intended to prevent further legal challenges to the stalled scheme after the Supreme Court ruled the plan was unlawful.
As well as compelling judges to regard the east African country as safe, it would give ministers the power to ignore emergency injunctions.
The Prime Minister says the policy will act as a deterrent to migrants attempting to make the perilous journey across the world’s busiest shipping lane.
