Rwanda-lite plan to deport asylum seekers on the table, Keir Starmer confirms ...Middle East

The UK Government is looking at the idea of deporting failed asylum seekers to dedicated migrant camps overseas, Sir Keir Starmer has indicated.

The Prime Minister said he was interested in “anything that works” to tackle small boat crossings after being asked by The i Paper whether Britain will follow EU countries in seeking to open foreign “return hubs” for migrants.

However, adopting such a policy would be hugely controversial within the Labour Party and could leave Starmer open to accusations of trying to revive a variant of the Conservatives’ abortive Rwanda deportation scheme.

Earlier this month, the EU unveiled regulations which would allow member states to establish so-called “return hubs” outside the bloc for rejected asylum seekers.

The hubs could hold migrants who come from countries deemed unsafe for them to be returned to, such as Iran and Somalia, as well as hosting rejected claimants from nations deemed safe, such as Vietnam or India, prior to them being deported to their home countries.

The approach is distinct to “offshore processing”, where asylum seekers are relocated to a third country while their claims are being considered, with Italy recently pursuing such a scheme with Albania.

Taking questions from journalists at the Organised Immigration Summit in central London on Monday, Starmer was asked by The i Paper whether he is looking at emulating the EU’s return hubs.

square POLITICS Explained

The five ways benefits claimants abuse taxpayer-funded Motability car scheme

The Prime Minister answered: “The in principle approach that we take is that we will look at anything that works.

“Obviously that’s got to be consistent with international law and it’s got to be cost effective. The Rwanda scheme was neither of those.

“But we are working with other countries on anything that we think will work. I obviously, as you know, went over to Italy to visit [Italian prime minister] Giorgia Meloni and to have an in-depth discussion with her about some of the work that she was doing.”

Appearing alongside the Prime Minister, the Home Secretary Yvette Cooper added: “I’ve spoken to the Italian Interior Minister about the work that they are doing with Albania.

“We’ve spoken to the EU Commissioner about their approach to returns. So we will look at any approach that is workable, as the Prime Minister says that fits with international law.

“That is the work that other European countries are doing. That is exactly what they are doing as well. So we will look at issues that work. What we will not do is just look at gimmicks.”

Meloni’s plans for offshore processing in Albania have so far been stymied by the Italian courts, with two migrant centres in the country lying empty since they were opened in October.

However, last week her government passed a decree expanding the use of the centres to include housing rejected asylum seekers.

In a video message sent to Monday’s summit, Meloni said that she “agree[d] with Keir that we should not be afraid to imagine and build innovative solutions, like the one that Italy launched with Albania”.

She said the model was “criticised at first” but had “gained increasing consensus, so much so that today the European Union is proposing to set up return hubs in third countries”.

Starmer later told journalists: “As you can tell I think from [Meloni’s] message, we are working very closely with her and with the Italians on this.”

square IMMIGRATION Analysis

Starmer's migrant plan: How does it differ from Rwanda and will it actually work?

The Home Office’s thinking on return hubs is understood to be at an early stage, with the idea being considered alongside the offshore processing model.  

In terms of the possible location of hubs, the department is keen to avoid publicly ruling countries in or out at this stage given the potential to ruffle diplomatic feathers. However, The Times reported earlier this month that countries in the western Balkans, such as Albania, Serbia, Bosnia and North Macedonia, are seen as possible partners.

Any deal would involve Britain paying the countries to house the migrants.

If the Government does choose to press forward with return hubs, the policy would likely invite comparisons with the Tories’ Rwanda scheme.

However, government sources argue that the system is different in two crucial respects. Firstly, the hubs would receive migrants at the end of their asylum “journey” rather than at the start, and secondly, they would only be located in countries deemed safe by the UK.

The UK Supreme Court previously ruled that Rwanda was not a safe country to send asylum seekers to, although Rishi Sunak’s government later passed legislation deeming it as safe.

Plenty of unanswered questions remain about the hubs, such as whether migrants would be detained within them or whether they would have some degree of freedom to come and go.

A likely objection to the hubs will be that an ever-increasing number of people could end up stuck in limbo if they refuse to return home and cannot be forcibly deported to their country of origin because it is considered unsafe.

Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Rwanda-lite plan to deport asylum seekers on the table, Keir Starmer confirms )

Also on site :

• Terrorist plot foiled in Russia’s Kaliningrad – FSB
• Old Navy Is Selling a 'Very Comfortable' Mini Dress for Just $17, and Shoppers Say It’s 'Perfect' for Summer
• Your Next 3 Years: What Happens When Saturn Enters Aries