LONDON – The newly elected government of the United Kingdom is set to accept thousands of illegal immigrants who otherwise faced the risk of deportation, it has emerged.
Although no official statement in this regard has been issued, a report issued by ‘The Sun’ highlights that the Labour government is poised to fast-track asylum applications of around 90,000 illegal immigrants.
The newspaper has estimated that out of the total number of applicants, 60,000 are expected to be accepted by the government led by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
This comes following the announcement by the government to shelve the Rwanda deportation plan – a plan vehemently supported by Rishi Sunak and his ministers.
Under the policy introduced by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, illegal immigrants would be transferred to Rwanda in Africa for the processing of their asylum claims.
Despite the Rishi Sunak government’s insistence that the plan was essential to halt illegal crossings through the English Channel, it was stalled due to numerous legal challenges. Now, the new Labour government is anticipated to exploit legal loopholes to expedite the processing of applications from illegal entrants into the country.
The newspaper has further reported that among the 90,000 illegal immigrants initially included in the Rwanda plan, many had taken legal action against the government, adding that Starmer’s administration is poised to prioritize processing the claims of these litigants.
By fast-track processing, it should not be ascertained that those who are to be accepted would be examined first as the newspaper revealed that the British government will initially process claims from ‘safe’ countries, like France and India, since these are likely to be denied, thereby facilitating the deportation of the claimants.
Although the newly elected premier has yet to present a clear alternative, Labour’s election manifesto stated that the party would utilize counter-terrorism powers to dismantle the criminal networks that smuggle illegal immigrants into the UK via the English Channel.
The UK government has introduced a series of measures in recent months to stem the tide of immigration and has even raised the minimum salary threshold for Skilled Worker Visas besides tightening the student visa rules.
