THE FIRST group of people seeking asylum in the UK are to be deported to Rwanda next month.
The Home Secretary announced that her department have begun issuing formal removal notices to those who have been selected for removal to the African country.
The first "deportation flight" is scheduled for June 14, the Home Office said, with those on it being encouraged to "rebuild their lives" thousands of miles from the UK.
The partnership with Rwanda has drawn sharp criticism from across the political spectrum, with legal challenges also being launched to prevent the government from removing people.
However Ms Patel said the move was necessary to stop the flow of migrants trying to cross the Channel and get to the UK.
The Home Secretary previously said the policy would deter people from crossing, and break the cycle of criminal gangs exploiting vulnerable migrants.
However critics say the policy is inhumane, breaches the human rights of those seeking refuge and have questioned the safety of Rwanda as a country to accommodate those needing help.
Ms Patel said: "Our world-leading partnership with Rwanda is a key part of our strategy to overhaul the broken asylum system and break the evil people-smugglers’ business model.
“Today’s announcement is another critical step towards delivering that partnership and, while we know attempts will now be made to frustrate the process and delay removals, I will not be deterred and remain fully committed to delivering what the British public expect.”
The Home Office would not reveal how many people have been notified that they will be deported to Rwanda.
Earlier this month Tom Pursglove, a junior minister in Priti Patel’s department, told a committee of MPs that it was not unlikely that people would be held in detention facilities while they await removal.
Home Office officials were asked what modelling the UK Government had done to verify that their controversial policy would actually work in deterring migrants from risking their lives to come to the UK via the Channel.
However Mr Pursglove was unable to say, instead telling MPs: “What this is doing is ending people making those journeys and thinking that there is a very significant chance of them remaining in the United Kingdom for a significant length of time. Doing nothing is not an option.”
Another official told the Committee there was evidence “out there” but acknowledged the department had not done specific modelling for their Rwanda scheme as “human behaviour is extremely complex”.
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