Britain to fly some detained asylum-seekers to Rwanda, in illegal immigration crackdown

Britain’s Conservative government has decide to send some asylum-seekers thousands of miles away to East Africa to be processed, in an apparent effort to crack down on illegal immigration.

The plan follows the government striking a deal Thursday with Rwanda to send the asylum-seekers there, according to the Associated Press. 

Home Secretary Priti Patel signed the agreement in the Rwandan capita of Kigali and called it an “economic development partnership.”

The plan – which critics say is inhumane, unworkable and a waste of public money – will result is some people arriving in Britain as stowaways on trucks or in small boats across the English Channel being flown to Rwanda.

The wire service says the refugees' relocation will apparently be permanent.

Migrants have long used northern France as a launching point to reach Britain, either by trucks or ferries, and have done so increasingly since the start of the pandemic.

More than 28,000 people entered the U.K. on small boats last year, from 8,500 in 2020, the wire service also reports.