The Court of Appeal’s ruling regarding the risk that refugees would face if they were returned had the approval of the justices.
The government’s intentions to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda were rejected by the UK Supreme Court on Wednesday, a blow to British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s important immigration policy.
The five judges ruled that, in contrast to London’s assertion, the African country is not a secure destination for asylum seekers because of the potential for refugees to face persecution.
The court declared in its ruling that “there are substantial grounds for believing that the claimants’ removal to Rwanda would expose them to a real risk of ill-treatment by reason of refoulement.”
Lord Reed, the court’s president, drew attention to the breakdown of an analogous deportation deal between Rwanda and Israel.
In response to the decision, Rishi Sunak stated that there is a “plan B” and that the administration will think about its next course of action.
“This was not the desired result, but we have been preparing for every scenario for the past few months, and we are still fully committed to stopping the boats,” he said on Wednesday. Crucially, he continued, “the Supreme Court has affirmed, as have the Court of Appeal and the High Court before it, that the principle of sending undocumented migrants to a safe third country for processing is legal.”
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The prime minister said the government would look into adding other nations to the list of possible deportation destinations.
“People will stop coming altogether and we will stop the boats when they realise that if they come here illegally, they won’t get to stay,” stated Sunak.
In preparation for a challenging election in 2019, the leader of the United Kingdom has based his immigration strategy on the Rwanda plan, despite his party’s significant polling deficit. Its purpose was to allay voter fears regarding the number of people seeking asylum that are reaching the coasts of Britain.
The government claims that the £140 million ($174.5 million) plan will significantly reduce the number of migrants who are trying to enter the UK in tiny boats.
