Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, the two candidates to succeed Boris Johnson at the helm of the UK government, have presented their plans for dealing with immigration, with many in common and the common idea of tightening the asylum system. After exposing their differences over fiscal policy in the early days of the Conservative primary campaign, Truss and Snack today vowed to press on with Johnson’s crackdown on illegal immigration.
The current foreign minister confirmed in an interview with the newspaper mail on sunday, which will increase the number of border guards by 20% and bring about new bilateral agreements, similar to the one the UK has already concluded with Rwanda, to deport asylum seekers who have entered clandestinely. Politics with Rwanda is the right policy. Truss said I am determined to implement it fully, as well as explore other countries we can work with in similar partnerships.
A British court has halted the first flight with asylum seekers to Rwanda, after the European Court of Human Rights ordered the provisional cancellation of the deportations. The British Supreme Court will consider the legality of that plan in September.
A week ago, the newspaper times He revealed that among the countries that Truss was thinking of expanding the program that started with Rwanda, Spain and Turkey. The Rwandan government has admitted that, at the moment, it only has the capacity to accommodate 200 immigrants from the UK, in an agreement for which it has already received €141 million.
Sunak also announced today that he supports the repatriation program for Rwanda and has predicted, in a ten-point plan, his intent to set a quota for the number of refugees the UK can accept annually. “Law-abiding citizens are shocked when they see boat after boat full of illegal immigrants coming from a safe country like France, where seafarers and coast guards can’t stop them,” Sunak said.
Among his proposals, the former economy minister proposes to “hold France accountable for the targets of the detained boats” or to “end the hotel scam,” referring to the hotel accommodation of asylum seekers while their applications are being analyzed. Sunak also suggested that foreign policy agreements with other countries should stipulate their “willingness to cooperate for the return” of illegal immigrants.
Both candidates will be able to confront their ideas on Monday evening, in a debate broadcast by the BBC. Conservative Party members will be able to vote throughout August to elect Johnson’s successor at the helm conservative. The winner, whose name will be known on September 5, will automatically become Prime Minister.
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