4 Trump lessons from the UK migrant deportation deal

On Sunday, Rwanda Foreign Minister said that his country was in the “early stage” talks with the Trump administration on a A deal to take immigrants It was deported from the United States.

This news had a familiar episode in Britain, where the previous government, which the conservatives, agreed to an agreement in 2022 to permanently deport asylum seekers to Rwanda, then went on Two years and hundreds of millions of pounds Try – largely in vain – to make the plan happen.

When the highest court in Britain ruled that the proposal broke the human rights law, the conservative government Try to use new legislation To overcome the judgment. But in the end, the policy proved almost completely, and the government of the new Labor Party, which was elected last year, was canceled, noting its huge expenses and the inability to work.

Here are some lessons British disaster You may hold the Trump administration.

It can be expensive.

The British government spent 715 million pounds, or about 955 million dollars, on the plan, which it claimed would deter illegal immigration.

In addition to 290 million pounds, which was paid directly to the Rwandan government, millions of other millions continued to prepare deportations, detention centers related to transfer and information technology systems, and the payment costs of employees and legal costs. But in the end, it ended with only four migrants to Rwanda – and they went voluntarily and paid 3000 pounds to do so.

Official documents show that the numbers were a small part of what could have been spent if the deal was fully performed. The British government agreed to pay 150,000 pounds for each person who has been deported, which would pay for a five -year “integration package” of accommodation, food, medical services and education.

After canceling the deal, Rwanda said It will not pay Any money returns because there was no payment item.

Evit Cooper, Minister of Interior of the Labor Party, said that the conservatives are ultimately planning to spend More than 10 billion pounds On Rwanda’s policy for six years.

Conservatives argued that the cost was worth it because less people would try to come to Britain on small boats if they were afraid to send them to Rwanda.

Rwanda may not be able to take large numbers of deportees.

The size of the country in Central Africa is only about 10,000 square miles, such as Massachusetts.

The Trump administration has not revealed the number of people who may want to send it to Rwanda, which is already one of the most populated countries in the world.

During a hearing in the British Supreme Court in 2023, a lawyer representing the government acknowledged that the number of asylum seekers that Rwanda could take is “low at the beginning” and pointed to “capacity building” in the country.

British news reports indicated at the time that it was possible to move a maximum of 1,000 in total from Britain to Rwanda over five years. In 2022, in the year when the deal was concluded, at least 45,000 people arrived in Britain on small boats.

Under an Israeli deal, the immigrants who were sent to Rwanda disappeared.

Any agreement with Washington will be the latest in a series of immigration agreements launched by Rwanda. The African nation is already hosting hundreds of African refugees from Libya waiting for resettlement A deal agreed six years ago With the United Nations Refugee Agency and the African Union.

The British treaty was not fully tested before canceling. but A secret agreement signed with Israel In 2013, it worked for five years before the Israeli Supreme Court ruled. The details of this agreement were discussed during the Battle of the Court in Britain.

According to the Israeli deal, the Eritrean and Sudanese asylum seekers who resorted to Israel were deported to Rwanda with “explicit pledges” that their claims have been considered and will enjoy “enjoying human rights and freedoms”, according to the documents submitted as evidence during the British Supreme Court listening.

But British judges found that Rwanda did not comply with these assurances and that asylum seekers that were deported by Israel “were routinely transferred to Uganda” by pushing them to the border or placing them on flights.

The Rwandan government did not immediately respond to requests to comment on this article.

There can be legal challenges.

The Trump administration has already shown in preparation for the challenge of the courts, and has so far refused to comply with orders to return at least Two men were wrongly deported to a notorious prison in El Salvador.

But in the case of Britain, the fact that the plan would have penetrated many local laws that impose human rights, as well as the United Nations Refugee Conference, contributed to the failure of the final plan. Under the conditions of the deal, Rwanda had to take in immigrants that are not documented and handle their asylum applications. Even if migrants were found later to qualify for a refugee position, they were expected to be resettled in Rwanda and not return to Britain.

In November 2023, the British Supreme Court ruled that the plan was illegal due to the risk of re -sending real refugees to the countries where they fled, which endangered their safety.

History of a slave The reports contributed.