Ireland plans to send asylum seekers back to the UK. According to the Irish government, more and more migrants fearing being deported to Rwanda are traveling from the United Kingdom to the Republic of Ireland. The Irish government wants to make it possible to deport these refugees again through an emergency law.
According to Irish Justice Minister Helen McEntee, around 80 percent of migrants enter the country via the United Kingdom. Migrants cross the open border between Ireland and Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom.
McEntee told Ireland’s RTE News: “The United Kingdom has seen an increase in asylum seekers since Brexit. They choose their own policies. But my focus as Minister of Justice is to achieve an effective migration policy in Ireland.” Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris said he had no sympathy for ‘offering a loophole for someone else’s migration problem’.
British politicians react strongly to the plan. A government source in London told The Telegraph that the United Kingdom will not take back asylum seekers from Ireland as long as the European Union does not accept asylum seekers from the United Kingdom in France.
One-way ticket to Rwanda
Last week, the British Parliament approved the migration law that ensures that asylum seekers who cross the Channel illegally can be deported to Rwanda. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak promised to send the first asylum seekers to the East African country by one-way plane ticket within ten to twelve weeks. Today the first migrants would already be detained awaiting the first flight.
The deported migrants end up in this hotel in Rwanda:
Not only the United Kingdom, but also Ireland is experiencing dissatisfaction with the increasing number of asylum seekers. In recent years, asylum seeker centers have been set on fire, anti-migration demonstrations have been held and riots broke out in the Irish capital Dublin after the perpetrator of a stabbing was suspected of having a migrant background. Moreover, migration in Ireland – as in the United Kingdom – is high on the political agenda due to national elections that will be held later this year.
Before Brexit, the British government could send asylum seekers back to France. According to European agreements, refugees must apply for asylum in the country where they enter the EU. But since Brexit, this rule no longer applies to the United Kingdom and a new treaty on this subject has not been drawn up.
However, during the Brexit negotiations, agreements were made about migration between Ireland (which is still part of the EU) and Northern Ireland (which is part of the United Kingdom).
Ireland has recently been banned from sending refugees back to Northern Ireland. An Irish judge ruled last month that the United Kingdom is not a ‘safe country’ because refugees there run the risk of being deported to Rwanda. The Irish Minister of Justice is trying to circumvent this ruling through an emergency law.
Do you already have the RTL News & Entertainment app?
Yes? We are happy with that!
Not yet? Download it here for Android and iOS.
