Global Concern: Illegal Immigration in the United States, Russia, and Europe

Illegal immigration is a world concern; the United States, Russia and Europe have the same problem

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On July 17, 2023, a demonstration for refugees against illegal immigration legislation was held in Parliament Square in London (Vuk Valcic News Images / ZUMA / Kyodo News).

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(Yoichi Masuzoe: international political scientist)

On April 22, the British Parliament passed a bill to deport illegal immigrants to Rwanda, Africa. In response, Prime Minister Sunak announced that the first flights to Rwanda would take off in 10 to 12 weeks. What is behind this unusual reaction?

Rapid increase in illegal immigration

Rwanda’s export plan was drawn up by the then government of Boris Johnson in April 2022, and is a policy aimed at curbing illegal immigration. The number of illegal migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats has been increasing for the past five years. In 2018, there were about 300 people, but in 2022 there were about 45,000 people, and in 2023 it will still be high at about 30,000 people, and in 2024 there will be 6,265 people as of April 21. There are.

Many of the immigrants are from Afghanistan, Iran, Türkiye, Eritrea and other countries.

Migrants land on the beach in Dungeness, UK, Nov. 24, 2021 (Xinhua/Kyodo News Images)

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Detaining illegal immigrants is expensive and creates problems such as worse security. In addition, many people lose their lives in maritime accidents while trying to immigrate in small boats.

Johnson’s government tried to conclude an agreement with Rwanda and carry out the export, but it was stopped in June 2022 when the European Court of Human Rights issued an interim injunction.

In November 2023, the UK Supreme Court also ruled that it was illegal. This is because there is a risk that they will be forcibly returned to their country of origin after being transferred to Rwanda, which would be in breach of the Refugee Convention, to which the UK is a party.

Therefore, the government signed a contract with Rwanda guaranteeing that migrants would not be sent back to third countries. The government then introduced an emergency bill stating that Rwanda is a safe country for immigrants. It also orders courts to vacate key parts of human rights law, preventing the High Court from intervening.

The bill was stalled, with the Senate sending it back five times, and the House rejecting the Senate’s amendments. In the end, the Senate withdrew the amendment, citing “respect for the leadership of the elected House of Representatives,” and the bill was approved as originally drafted.