{"id":39675,"date":"2023-12-08T11:49:13","date_gmt":"2023-12-08T11:49:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/miamiheatnation.com\/?p=39675"},"modified":"2023-12-08T11:49:13","modified_gmt":"2023-12-08T11:49:13","slug":"rishi-sunaks-best-alternatives-to-rwanda-and-how-feasible-they-would-be","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/miamiheatnation.com\/politics\/rishi-sunaks-best-alternatives-to-rwanda-and-how-feasible-they-would-be\/","title":{"rendered":"Rishi Sunak’s best alternatives to Rwanda \u2013 and how feasible they would be"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sunak defends new Rwanda plan<\/h3>\n

Announcing his latest deal to deport illegal migrants to Rwanda, Rishi Sunak made it clear that the new treaty signed with the African country, and new domestic legislation, is as far as the Government can go.<\/p>\n

Despite demands from hardline right-wing Tory MPs for the Government to go further and rule any way for migrants set to be deported from appealing their fate, Mr Sunak has said Rwanda would not allow the UK to continue with its deal if it broke human rights laws.<\/p>\n

At his Downing Street press conference, Mr Sunak said the difference between his new policy and those on the right of his party is just \u201can inch\u201d, but that inch \u201cis the difference between the Rwandans participating in this scheme and not\u201d.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cThere\u2019s no point having a piece of legislation that means you can\u2019t actually send anyone anywhere – that\u2019s not going to help anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many on the right believe that the Government\u2019s current Bill will make little difference to the success of the scheme, meaning once again people are questioning what alternative policies to stop the boats the Government could pursue.<\/p>\n

Click here to join our Whatsapp community to be the first to receive politics news from The Express <\/b><\/p>\n

READ MORE: <\/strong> Rishi Sunak tells the British public: I get it! Now back me to finish the job<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Alternative countries<\/h3>\n

The main reason the Supreme Court ruled the Government\u2019s current Rwanda policy unlawful was over concerns about how migrants would be treated once they\u2019ve been sent there.<\/p>\n

The Supreme Court argued there were substantial grounds to believe that asylum seekers sent to Rwanda risk ill-treatment or being “refouled” whereby their claims are rejected and they are sent back to their home country, which may be dangerous.<\/p>\n

Given there are concerns about Rwanda\u2019s domestic processes and being out of the UK Government\u2019s hands, alternative places for deportation have regularly been floated.<\/p>\n

They include Ascension Island between South America and Africa, the Falkland Islands, or even the Orkney Islands as advocated by Lee Anderson.<\/p>\n

The Government also scoped out other potential third countries alongside Rwanda when they were originally formulating the plan, however they were seen to be even less plausible.<\/p>\n

Jacob Rees-Mogg has said the Ascension Island plan would have cost \u00a31million per person sent there.<\/p>\n

There was also pushback from the RAF, which jointly operates the only airport on the island alongside the US Space Force, who reportedly wanted \u201cnothing to do with it\u201d.<\/p>\n

The Falklands was also considered, however, it would have led to just 30 migrants being deported in a six to 12-month period and would be equally liable to legal challenge.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

More collaboration with France<\/h3>\n

Another alternative would be forcing the French to be more proactive and stop more boats from leaving their shores in the first place.<\/p>\n

In August, ministers voiced frustration at France\u2019s failure to stop boat crossings, with a policy of non-intervention once a vessel is at sea.<\/p>\n

Rishi Sunak has already handed France \u00a3480million to put more officers on the ground, but there are concerns about how attentive the policing of the country\u2019s coastline actually is.<\/p>\n

French navy patrol vessels have also been regularly filmed actively escorting boats to British waters, at which point they become the UK\u2019s problem.<\/p>\n

In contrast, Belgium, which does safely intervene in the water, has largely ended small boat crossings from their shores.<\/p>\n

There is no guarantee that more money to France would improve the quality of policing, however, especially while they maintain a policy of not dragging dinghies back to shore once they\u2019ve set off.<\/p>\n