UK pledges to speed up processing of illegal immigrants

Photo: Daniel Leal/AFP

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced in Parliament on Tuesday (13) that he would end the backlog in processing illegal immigrants by the end of 2023. “This deal will allow the deportation of thousands of Albanians who arrived illegally in the coming months,” the UK leader said.

In addition, Sunak promised to double the number of staff and halve the cost of housing asylum seekers currently staying in hotels using former holiday centres, student housing and military facilities. “We will be tough but fair,” he said.

The British government wants to send police officers to Tirana airport and improve the needs of those who claim to be victims of modern slavery. In return, Albania assured London that the victims would be protected.

The immigration issue is particularly sensitive for the UK’s Conservative government, which has made good on a promise to regain control of the borders during the Brexit campaign, but so far has not succeeded.

According to data released by the UK Home Office, there are 143,000 pending asylum applications, around 100,000 of which have been outstanding for more than six months, three times the number three years ago. Since the start of this year, almost 45,000 migrants have made the dangerous crossing of the English Channel in flimsy small boats, compared with around 30,000 in 2021. “A third of them, almost 13,000, are from Albania, a safe European country. , argued Sunak, which is why he announced this “enhanced cooperation agreement.”

The British prime minister was also determined to restart plans to relocate asylum seekers who entered the UK illegally to Rwanda, which had been suspended following an intervention by the European Court of Human Rights. In October, the administration was criticized by members of the opposition and Conservative Party due to poor sanitary conditions at the overcrowded processing centre. In response, Interior Minister Suella Braverman complained of an “invasion” of the country.

Already Labor leader Keir Starmer has blamed the government for processing only 2% of cases, resulting in a cost of seven million pounds (8.2 million euros) a day for asylum seekers. “It’s bad for refugees trying to rebuild their lives. And it’s bad for taxpayers,” Starmer commented.