May, who led the country’s immigration policy as interior minister between 2010 and 2016, stated that the decision to send only single male immigrants to Rwanda will accelerate human trafficking of women and children.
Interior Minister Piri Patel, on the other hand, continued to claim that this policy will deal a major blow to human smugglers.
Patel said that there is a need for a change in immigration policy because people die trying to come to the UK.
This policy is also criticized by non-governmental organizations and opposition parties.
According to the plan, some of the migrants arriving in the UK by trucks or boats will be sent to Rwanda, some 6,000 kilometers away.
Rwanda will take responsibility for incoming arrivals and put those arriving in the country through an asylum application process.
At the end of this process, these individuals, if successful, will have a long-term residence permit in Rwanda.
The plan’s annual cost has been announced as £120m, but opponents think it will cost much higher than that.
It is known that 28,526 people crossed the English Channel in small boats last year. This number was recorded as 8 thousand 404 people in 2020.
Human rights activists underlined that the plan would have a negative impact on refugee rights.
Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper also criticized the program as “not sustainable, ethical and measured”, suggesting that it was aimed at closing years of failure in the fight against illegal immigration.
Ian Blackford, leader of the Scottish National Party in the House of Commons, also called the idea of sending “vulnerable people” to Rwanda “absolutely chilling”.