UK Confirms First Migrants Held For Rwanda Deportation Flights

London, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 1st May, 2024) The UK government confirmed Wednesday it had detained an unspecified number of migrants in recent days for deportation to Rwanda in July under its controversial new policy.

It comes a week after lawmakers ended months of parliamentary wrangling and passed a law allowing some asylum seekers to be deported by declaring Rwanda to be a safe third country.

The new legislation circumvented a Supreme Court ruling last year that sending migrants to Rwanda in this way would be illegal because it "would expose them to a real risk of ill-treatment".

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has vowed to stop migrants arriving on small boats from mainland Europe. He vowed last week to begin detaining people promptly before deportation flights start within "10 to 12 weeks".

Reports of immigration enforcement officers holding people earmarked for the flights emerged earlier this week.

On Wednesday, the interior ministry confirmed that "a series of nationwide operations" was underway.

"The first illegal migrants set to be removed to Rwanda have now been detained," it added.

Calling it "another major milestone" in the Rwanda plan, the ministry released photographs and a video of immigration enforcement officers detaining several migrants at different residences.

They were seen being led away in handcuffs and put into secure vehicles.

A spokesman for Sunak said the UK leader was pleased that "the first detentions have taken place.

"It's obviously an important part of now operationalising the plan to get flights off the ground in nine to 11 weeks time and provide the effective deterrent that we need to stop seeing these dangerous boat crossings," he added.