The UK government finally passes bill to send migrants to Rwanda. What took so long?

The British Parliament has finally passed legislation to send some migrants to Rwanda, clearing the runway for flights this summer under Prime Minister Rishi Sunak ’s controversial plan aimed at deterring risky English Channel crossings by people desperate to reach the U.K. A bill designed to unblock a plan beset by court challenges and legislative battles was approved early Tuesday, delivering what Sunak hopes will be a much-needed political victory and fulfill his pledge to “stop the boats.

The Rwanda plan is the British government’s response to the growing number of migrants from around the world — reaching a high of 46,000 in 2022 — who cross the English Channel from France to Britain in small boats. Most people who arrive that way apply for asylum, and in the past many have been granted it. The Conservative government says these migrants should not be treated as genuine refugees because they did not claim asylum in another safe country, such as France, that they reached first.

Britain and Rwanda signed a treaty in December pledging to strengthen protections for migrants, partly by barring Rwanda from sending any migrants deported from the U.K back to their home countries. Sunak’s government argued the treaty allowed it to pass a law declaring Rwanda a safe destination.

Britain is not alone in trying to control irregular migration. Much of Europe and the U.S. is struggling with how best to cope with migrants seeking refuge from war, violence, oppression and a warming planet that has brought devastating drought and floods. A few countries have tried offshore processing of asylum seekers — notably Australia, which first sent migrants to the Pacific island nation of Nauru in 2001 and has operated an asylum-processing center there since 2012.

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