This file photo shows British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak attending a press conference at Downing Street in London, Britain, on April 22. [Photo/Agencies]
Officials from the United Kingdom's Home Office launched the first stage of the government's Rwanda deportation policy on Monday by detaining asylum seekers in advance of the first flights, which are expected to take off in July.
Last week, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak saw the policy, first proposed by then-premier Boris Johnson two years ago, finally become law.
He has said he hopes it will deter people from crossing the English Channel from France in small boats in the hope of being granted asylum because, since it left the European Union, the UK has been unable to return them to the bloc.
Sunak has made delivering the policy an important part of his legislative platform, but it has drawn widespread criticism.
The surprise announcement came at the start of a week when local elections are taking place across the UK.
The policy implementation will reportedly involve some asylum seekers who turn up for scheduled immigration service office meetings being detained, and others selected and taken to detention centers, even though their deportation might not happen for up to three months.
Last week, before the legislation was passed, Sunak said: "To detain people while we prepare to remove them, we've increased detention spaces to 2,200. To quickly process claims, we've got 200 trained, dedicated caseworkers ready and waiting. To deal with any legal cases quickly and decisively, the judiciary have made available 25 courtrooms and identified 150 judges who could provide over 5,000 sitting days."
In a Sky News interview on Sunday, Sunak referred to Rwanda and illegal migration 13 times, and spoke of his "determination to get that Rwanda scheme going".
He also referenced other countries looking at "doing third-country partnerships, looking at novel ways to solve this (illegal migration) problem, and I believe (they) will follow where the UK has led".
The policy has reportedly led to a rise in the number of asylum seekers going to the EU member state the Republic of Ireland, which shares a border with Northern Ireland, part of the UK, which has increased tensions between the two governments.
"We passed the Rwanda Bill that means those coming here illegally can expect to be removed to Rwanda," UK government minister Mel Stride told the Daily Telegraph newspaper. "What we are already seeing is a deterrent effect kicking in. That's why we are seeing people moving from the UK into Ireland."
Ireland's Prime Minister Simon Harris is reportedly seeking a way to return migrants to the UK. Stride said there would be discussions but this outcome was unlikely.
