Posted on Nov 15, 2023
The U.K. Supreme Court has struck down a plan to send asylum-seekers to Rwanda
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https://www.npr.org/2023/11/15/ [login to see] /uk-supreme-court-rwanda-asylum-policy-sunak
In a massive defeat for the British prime minister, the United Kingdom's Supreme Court unanimously ruled Wednesday that the government's controversial immigration policy is unlawful.
The country's top court has blocked Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's flagship policy that would send asylum-seekers to Rwanda, whose authorities would process their claims.
"There are substantial grounds for believing that asylum seekers would face a real risk of ill-treatment" by being sent back to "their country of origin if they were removed to Rwanda," the court said.
Following the ruling, Sunak said in a news conference Wednesday evening that he would "pass emergency legislation" to deem Rwanda a safe country and that he would "not allow foreign courts to block the flights" the U.K. plans to use to transfer migrants to the African country.
In a massive defeat for the British prime minister, the United Kingdom's Supreme Court unanimously ruled Wednesday that the government's controversial immigration policy is unlawful.
The country's top court has blocked Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's flagship policy that would send asylum-seekers to Rwanda, whose authorities would process their claims.
"There are substantial grounds for believing that asylum seekers would face a real risk of ill-treatment" by being sent back to "their country of origin if they were removed to Rwanda," the court said.
Following the ruling, Sunak said in a news conference Wednesday evening that he would "pass emergency legislation" to deem Rwanda a safe country and that he would "not allow foreign courts to block the flights" the U.K. plans to use to transfer migrants to the African country.
The U.K. Supreme Court has struck down a plan to send asylum-seekers to Rwanda
Posted from npr.org
United Kingdom
Immigration
Refugees
Rwanda
Policy
Posted 5 mo ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Sunak has promised to revive the plan, saying he is already working closely with counterparts in Kigali on a new treaty. “We will finalize that in light of today’s judgement,” Sunak told the House of Commons.
The court’s decision arrives as Sunak comes under increasing pressure from the right-wing bloc of his party. Earlier this week, the prime minister shuffled key members out of his cabinet — including former Home Secretary Suella Braverman, a leading proponent of the Rwanda plan. In a scathing resignation letter prior to the ruling, Braverman called Sunak “weak,” accusing him of failing to deliver on immigration. Sunak now faces further divisions within his party, Bloomberg notes.
Under the proposal, asylum-seekers would have been sent to “Hope Hostel” in Rwanda’s capital, a premise which was controversially cleared of residents 18 months ago. The move left dozens of men homeless, all of them survivors of the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Some had resided at the hostel for eight years, but were pushed out just days after former British Home Secretary Priti Patel signed the deportation agreement.
The plan was an expensive disaster for the Conservative Party. The U.K. paid £140 million ($175 million) for the deal, which was announced last year. No deportation flights have ever departed for Rwanda, the first one canceled minutes before takeoff following a legal challenge. An economic assessment of the plan estimated that moving asylum-seekers to Rwanda would have cost £63,000 per person more than keeping them in the U.K."
..."Sunak has promised to revive the plan, saying he is already working closely with counterparts in Kigali on a new treaty. “We will finalize that in light of today’s judgement,” Sunak told the House of Commons.
The court’s decision arrives as Sunak comes under increasing pressure from the right-wing bloc of his party. Earlier this week, the prime minister shuffled key members out of his cabinet — including former Home Secretary Suella Braverman, a leading proponent of the Rwanda plan. In a scathing resignation letter prior to the ruling, Braverman called Sunak “weak,” accusing him of failing to deliver on immigration. Sunak now faces further divisions within his party, Bloomberg notes.
Under the proposal, asylum-seekers would have been sent to “Hope Hostel” in Rwanda’s capital, a premise which was controversially cleared of residents 18 months ago. The move left dozens of men homeless, all of them survivors of the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Some had resided at the hostel for eight years, but were pushed out just days after former British Home Secretary Priti Patel signed the deportation agreement.
The plan was an expensive disaster for the Conservative Party. The U.K. paid £140 million ($175 million) for the deal, which was announced last year. No deportation flights have ever departed for Rwanda, the first one canceled minutes before takeoff following a legal challenge. An economic assessment of the plan estimated that moving asylum-seekers to Rwanda would have cost £63,000 per person more than keeping them in the U.K."
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