UK plan to fly asylum-seekers to Rwanda draws outrage

The plan will see some people who arrive in Britain as stowaways on trucks or in ferries sent to Rwanda

Britain's Conservative government has struck a deal with Rwanda to send some asylum-seekers thousands of miles away to the East African country, a move that opposition politicians and refugee groups condemned as inhumane, unworkable and a waste of public money.

Home Secretary Priti Patel visited the Rwandan capital, Kigali, on Thursday to sign what the two countries called an “economic development partnership.” The plan will see some people who arrive in Britain as stowaways on trucks or in small boats across the English Channel picked up by the U.K. government and flown 4,000 miles (6,400 kilometers) to Rwanda, apparently for good.

Migrants have long used northern France as a launching point to reach Britain, either by hiding on trucks or ferries, or — increasingly since the coronavirus pandemic shut down other routes in 2020 — in dinghies and other small boats organized by smugglers. More than 28,000 people entered the U.K. on small boats last year, up from 8,500 in 2020. Dozens have died, including 27 people in November when a single boat capsized.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said action was needed to stop “vile people smugglers (who) are abusing the vulnerable and turning the Channel into a watery graveyard."

In a speech near the Channel coast, Johnson said “anyone entering the U.K. illegally … may now be relocated to Rwanda."

The Rwandan government said the agreement would initially last for five years, and Britain had paid 120 million pounds ($158 million) up front to pay for housing and integrating the migrants.

Rwandan Foreign Affairs Minister Vincent Biruta said the agreement “is about ensuring that people are protected, respected, and empowered to further their own ambitions and settle permanently in Rwanda if they choose.”