Robert Jenrick has stated that the prime minister did not fulfill his promise to do whatever is necessary to prevent boats from arriving.
The previous minister in charge of immigration stepped down from his position on Wednesday, shortly after Rishi Sunak introduced a bill to uphold his policy of deporting individuals to Rwanda.
Jenrick resigned from his position after it was disclosed that the current laws do not permit the government to disregard international laws that prevent them from sending asylum seekers to central Africa. Rwanda had threatened to withdraw from the agreement if the UK disregarded international law, and up to 10 ministers had expressed their intention to step down if the bill did not comply with international law.
The Member of Parliament representing Newark in Nottinghamshire wrote for the Daily Telegraph stating that upon his appointment in October 2022, the Home Office was facing numerous difficulties and the UK was overwhelmed with the high influx of small boat crossings in the Channel.
He stated that the situation of hotels housing asylum seekers was made worse by its “indefensible” and “farcical” nature.
Jenrick stated that the prime minister was correct in vowing to put an end to this foolish situation. Up until Wednesday, he had stayed true to his promise.
He stated that Sunak was correct in stating that the new Rwanda bill was more extensive than the previous law. However, he also mentioned that if the bill is approved, it would not completely solve the issue of continuous legal challenges that hinder the quick removal of small boat arrivals. This would not effectively deter these arrivals.
Section four of the bill allows people to lodge challenges against their individual deportation to Rwanda. Jenrick wrote: “Backlogs will likely build, and cases that would at best take months to resolve will be stayed considerably longer. Injunctions will likely follow.
“We will start to reject bail requests, resulting in the release of individuals from custody. These individuals will likely run away and blend into society.”
“The idea, therefore, that this bill will guarantee all those arriving are detained and swiftly removed is for the birds.
The only legislation that can achieve this goal is a bill that ensures removal within days, rather than months, upon arrival by prohibiting individual challenges that would hinder it.
Jenrick stated that he also holds the belief that it is not feasible to incorporate individuals from various nations into British culture, given the current rate of immigration.
He stated that it is not easy to increase the number of GP services and hospitals. Additionally, he believes that integration is not feasible when such a large number of people (over 1.2 million in the past two years) are allowed into the system.
The legislation regarding Rwanda’s asylum and immigration did not go as far as withdrawing from the European Convention on Human Rights. Additionally, it does not contain any provisions that would permit ministers to bypass the ECHR and other global agreements.
The law, which requires parliamentary approval, grants ministers the authority to ignore parts of the Human Rights Act.
The prime minister declared during an urgent press conference at 10 Downing Street on Thursday that he is determined to proceed with his contentious deportation plan, despite opposition from the conservative wing and concerns from moderate members of parliament.
Source: theguardian.com