Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, the two candidates to succeed Boris Johnson at the head of the UK government, presented on Sunday their plans to address immigration, with many commonalities and the shared idea of tightening the asylum system. Having exposed their differences on fiscal policy in the early days of the Conservative primary campaign, Truss and Sunak today pledged to go further in Johnson’s crackdown on illegal immigration.
The current Minister of Foreign Affairs assured, in an interview with the newspaper The Mail on Sunday, which will increase the number of border guards by 20% and will reach new bilateral agreements, similar to the one the UK already has with Rwanda, to deport asylum seekers who have entered clandestinely. “The policy with Rwanda is the right one. I am determined to fully implement it, as well as explore other countries with which we can work in similar partnerships,” Truss said.
The first flight with asylum seekers to Rwanda was suspended by the British court, after the European Court of Human Rights ordered the precautionary cancellation of the deportations. The British Supreme Court will examine the legality of that plan in September.
A week ago, the newspaper The Times revealed that among the countries to which Truss was considering expanding the program started with Rwanda were Spain and Turkey. The Rwandan government acknowledged that, for now, it only has the capacity to accommodate 200 immigrants from the United Kingdom, in an agreement for which it has already received 141 million euros.
Sunak also announced today that he supports the deportation program for Rwanda and anticipated, in a ten-point plan, his intention 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 arriving from a safe country like France, with our sailors and Coast Guard powerless to stop them,” Sunak said.
Among his proposals, the former economy minister suggests “holding France accountable for detained boats targets” or “ending the hotel hoax”, referring to the hotel accommodation of asylum seekers while their applications are analyzed. Sunak also proposes to condition foreign policy agreements with other countries on their “willingness to cooperate for the return” of their illegal immigrants.
Both candidates will be able to confront their ideas on Monday night, in a debate televised by the BBC. Members of the Conservative Party will be able to vote throughout August to elect Johnson’s successor at the head of the tories. The winner, whose name will be known on September 5, will automatically become prime minister.
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