115,000 People in Asylum ‘Limbo’ After Rwanda Plan: Refugee Council

More than 115,000 asylum seekers will be left in “limbo” in the UK by the end of 2024 as a result of the government’s migration policies, a not-for-profit organisation has said.

The Refugee Council’s briefing paper published on Thursday estimates that, at most, 1,900 people will have been removed to Rwanda by the end of 2024, leaving 115,575 asylum seekers “stranded” in the UK.

The non-profit says there will be a “system meltdown” because these people cannot be repatriated and will not be able to be sent to Rwanda because of logistical issues.

The council’s analysis of Home Office immigration statistics estimates that under the government’s newest pieces of legislation to curb mass illegal immigration, 105,309 asylum seekers will have their asylum claim declared inadmissible and be subject to removal.

Fewer than one in ten (9,478) will be eligible to be returned to their home country, because the vast majority of asylum seekers are coming from countries deemed unsafe for returns. Of the 95,831 remaining, only 1,900 will be sent to Rwanda by the end of the year, with 93,931 stuck “limbo.”

“Even if the UK Government were able to remove 5,000 people to Rwanda by the end of 2024, there would be just over 90,000 people left in this situation,” the briefing paper says.

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Adding a further 21,644 who arrived between March 7, 2023 and July 19, 2023 but who are ineligible to be given leave to remain, the Refugee Council says that a total of 115,575 people “will be stranded in the UK.”

The briefing paper estimates hosting these people will cost the taxpayer £6.2 billion annually—roughly £17 million a day—for accommodation alone.

In comments to The Epoch Times, the Refugee Council called the plans “flawed,” continuing that “in reality the number of people who can be removed there will be limited by the capacity of the Rwandan system and logistical challenges that the Home Office face.”

The Refugee Council called on the government to repeal the Illegal Migration Act and the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Act and institute a “fair and efficient” asylum system as well as creating “more safe routes for refugees to reach the UK.”

Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, said the measures will “lead to another entirely avoidable system meltdown.”

Mr. Solomon continued, “Instead of operating an effective and fair asylum system, the government has recklessly brought in this misguided legislation without any apparent thought to its staggering costs and long-term consequences.”

A Home Office spokesperson said of the Refugee Council’s report: “Ahead of the Illegal Migration Act coming into force, we are removing thousands of illegal migrants to their country of origin. Many of this cohort will be in scope for removal to Rwanda, which is an uncapped scheme, and can expect to be served removal notices in due course.

Home Secretary James Cleverly said during a visit to Lampedusa in Italy—a hotspot for migrant arrivals in the Mediterranean—that “multiple flights per month” would take off once the process begins.

Home Secretary James Cleverly in Lampedusa Port during his trip to Lampedusa, Italy, on April 24, 2024. (Victoria Jones/PA Wire)

Mr. Cleverly insisted that the money spent on the Rwanda plan was “absolutely worth it” and the government would “keep those flights going until we stop the boats.”

“It’s not about how many flights we want to take off—what it’s about is breaking the business model of the people smugglers and deterring people attempting to make small boats crossings—that is what we’re focused on.

“The deterrent effect of the Rwanda scheme is an important part of that—and as the prime minister has made it clear, we’ll have a regular drum beat, multiple flights per month, through the summer and beyond, and the flights are in order to stop the boats—and that remains our priority,” he said.

PA Media contributed to this report.