UK top court rejects Rwanda plan to deal with migrants

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) – Rejecting a high-profile policy meant to help deal with migration, the UK Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that the government's plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda is unlawful.

The controversial plan that seeks to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda while their claims are assessed was ruled unlawful by the highest court, as they found the East African country is not a safe place for asylum seekers to be housed.

The court’s judges unanimously upheld a Court of Appeal decision that the policy was unlawful.

In January campaigners and asylum seekers won a legal challenge to the Rwanda plan as the Court of Appeal ruled that the deportation scheme was unlawful.

The plan has been one of the most controversial planks of the government's migration policy, as it sparked international criticism and mass protests across the UK.

The plan, signed in April 2022 by then-UK Home Secretary Priti Patel and Rwandan Foreign Minister Vincent Biruta, proposed sending asylum seekers trying to enter the UK to Rwanda for resettlement.

Tackling small boat crossings by irregular migrants across the British Channel is among five priorities of the British government, as more than 45,000 migrants arrived in the country that way last year.