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More than half of asylum seekers allocated for deportation to Rwanda cannot be easily traced, according to a British government report, as critics warn the system is pushing larger numbers of claimants underground.
The government said Rwanda had “agreed in principle to accept 5,700 asylum seekers from the UK” but noted in an impact assessment that only “2,143 continue to report to the Home Office and can be traced for detention.”
Interior Ministry officials claimed in a document released Monday that the 3,557 remaining people were not necessarily missing or “hiding” but were not required to report to officials, making it harder to track them down.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak faces a difficult week as the Conservatives brace for potentially devastating losses in Thursday’s local and mayoral elections. The government has denied allegations that it timed the detention operation to drum up support ahead of election day.
Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, said it was “no surprise that the Home Office appears to have lost touch with people it wants to deport to Rwanda”.
“We know from our work with people fleeing war and persecution that they are incredibly worried and desperate about the Rwanda plan. . . They will inevitably face the risk of exploitation and abuse,” he added.
The government is expected to launch a nationwide operation this week to detain asylum seekers in preparation for their deportation. This includes the detention of people who arrive at immigration offices for scheduled meetings.
Sunak has since become embroiled in a public spat with the Irish government over claims that an increasing number of asylum seekers are traveling to the Republic of Ireland to seek refuge given the sluggishness of Britain’s current system.
Sunak has ruled out a bilateral repatriation agreement with Ireland. “We will not accept returns from the EU through Ireland if the EU does not accept returns to France, where illegal migrants come from,” he said on Monday.
Last week, Sunak finally passed his Rwandan law to deter irregular cross-Channel migration, which underlies his plan to send some asylum seekers to Kigali.
Around 40,000 migrants living in the UK are excluded from the asylum system because they entered the country after new rules under the Illegal Migration Act came into force on March 7, 2023.
Campaign organizations have warned that these people are at high risk of joining criminal gangs or becoming homeless.
A recent report from the Refugee Council suggests up to 120,000 people could be stuck in the UK without the right to asylum by the end of the year.
The Home Office said: “As the Prime Minister has made clear, we will begin flights to Rwanda in the next 10 to 12 weeks.”
“In preparation for the start of flights, we have identified the first cohort to be transferred to Rwanda and have hundreds of dedicated caseworkers ready to deal with any appeals.”