80 migrants arrived in Dover today in three boats, including a small girl holding a teddy bear, as fears rise that Boris Johnson’s Rwanda plan is failing.
The predominantly male party, which included youngsters and a woman holding a teddy bear, was led into Dover Marina in Kent by UK authorities wearing white Hazmat suits and masks soon before 11 a.m. this morning on board the Border Force catamaran Typhoon.
Soldiers in camouflage fatigues and high-vis vests escorted the newcomers off the ship and took them down the gangway to be processed.
Two infants were held by caregivers, while a primary school-aged boy went along the sidewalk by himself.
As they disembarked from the boat, some migrants were spotted lugging their goods. One woman held a little teddy bear in her hand, as the British military took another man’s backpack.
The announcement comes as the Ministry of Defence lowered the number of migrants who have crossed the English Channel this year from over 10,000 to 9,941.
The Ministry of Defence initially reported 436 migrants arriving in the UK on May 15, but then revised the figure to 389. However, the overall number of migrants who have arrived in the UK so far this year is more than double the number who had arrived by June 3rd, 2021, when little over 4,200 persons had been held.
Official Home Office records show that 28,526 people crossed the border in 2021, compared to 8,410 in 2020.
It has reignited suspicions that the Conservative government’s key strategy of deportation to combat people smuggling is doomed to fail.
‘If the goal of the Rwanda plan was to dissuade people going across the Channel, it’s not actually working, is it?’ said Ben Habib, a former Brexit Party MEP, on Talk TV yesterday. We’ve seen record amounts of people come through since they announced it. We need to put a halt to this illegal cross-Channel migration.’
The Home Office has sent’removal warnings’ to almost 100 persons suspected of crossing the Channel illegally in dinghies, stating that they will be deported to Rwanda.
The first flight is scheduled to take off on June 14, although legal hurdles are expected at the last minute.
A group of 17 unsuccessful asylum seekers detained at Brook House near Gatwick Airport conducted a five-day hunger strike in protest of the controversial policy, while others are reported to have tried suicide.
‘While we know attempts will now be made to impede the process and prolong removals, I will not be deterred and remain completely dedicated to achieving what the British public expects,’ Home Secretary Priti Patel said earlier this week.
The first migrants to be deported by Home Office attorneys are thought to be single men. Under the £120 million arrangement struck with the Kagame government last month, the government wanted flights to Kigali to begin by the end of May.
If they do not withdraw their asylum application and agree to return to their home country, they would be flown to Rwanda and’supported to start a new life there.’
Rwanda will evaluate asylum claims and’settle or remove’ them in accordance with Rwandan and international rules, according to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who also stated that tens of thousands of refugees might be flown out to East Africa in the coming years. Later, the minister stated that the figures will most certainly remain in the hundreds.
Boris Johnson slammed ‘liberal lawyers’ for delaying his plan to relocate tens of thousands of migrants from the UK to Rwanda, vowing to ‘get it done.’
‘The rise in perilous Channel crossings is intolerable,’ said Tom Pursglove MP, Minister for Justice and Tackling Illegal Migration.
‘Not only are they an open violation of our immigration laws, but they also have an impact on the UK taxpayer, put lives at risk, and limit our ability to assist refugees in entering the UK through safe and lawful channels.’ The British populace has had enough, and rightly so.
‘Through our Nationality and Borders Bill, we’re cracking down on people traffickers and reforming the dysfunctional system by making it unlawful to intentionally enter the UK and establishing a maximum term of life imprisonment for those who aid illegal immigration into our nation.’
On Tuesday, the Gris-Nez-based French regional operational surveillance and rescue center (CROSS) discovered six boats in distress in the Calais Strait.
Maritime Affairs patrol boat Jeanne Barret picked up 45 stranded persons and led them to the port of Boulogne-sur-Mer, while the all-weather boat Jean Bart recovered 41 migrants from the Channel and dropped them off at the port of Dunkirk.
The French border police and departmental fire and rescue services then took care of them.
Migrants being flown to Rwanda next month will be housed in a hotel with a pool, spa, free WIFI, flat screen TVs with satellite channels, a tennis court, a gym, and access to a golf course, according to MailOnline.
Many of people who have been diverted from attempting to cross the Channel by boat as a result of Miss Patel’s contentious scheme will be treated to all-inclusive vacation-style accommodations.
As part of the government’s crackdown on the rising number of unlawful Channel crossings to the UK, up to 100 migrants are expected to be transported to the East African country in June.
The British and Rwandan governments are jealously guarding the details of the 6,000-mile deportation flights.
However, according to MailOnline, the first planeload of migrants might land in Kigali, Rwanda’s capital, as early as mid-June, just in time for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Conference.
Those who will be sent to the Desir Resort Hotel will be the lucky.
The Desir offers a swimming pool, an outdoor bar and restaurant, and spa facilities. It is located in a peaceful area on the outskirts of Kigali, Rwanda’s capital city.
There is also free WiFi, a tennis court, a gym, and golf course access. Each room has its own bathroom with a shower.
VIP rooms with cooking facilities cost £46 per night for customers who book on the open market. The cost of a single room is £23 per night, and a twin room is £46 per night, both including breakfast.
The restaurant at the three-star Desir Resort Hotel serves grilled tilapia fish, beef burgers, and pizza, among other dishes.
Imported Heineken beer, as well as locally manufactured Primus and Skol beer, are available to guests. The bar serves red and white wine, as well as a variety of spirits.
Every one of the hotel’s 72 rooms has a flat-screen TV with satellite channels and ironing facilities.
A delegation of Portuguese engineers is currently staying at the Desir, as are wealthy Rwandan families visiting the capital from the countryside. A six-person team from Lisbon has been hired to supervise the construction of a shopping complex in Kigali.
The hotel’s front desk workers refused to talk about their involvement in the British immigration initiative.
However, Jackie Uwamungu, the operations manager, was pleased with the agreement. ‘Business is only getting back on its feet after the protracted setbacks caused by the Covid-19 outbreak,’ she said. As a result, the immigration agreement is a welcome respite. It will help our company grow.’
‘We have VIP, silver, double, and twin rooms, as well as a swimming pool and a meeting area,’ she added.
The Niyo Art Gallery is a nearby site to the Desir.
The city center of Kigali is around two and a half miles distant, but a motorcycle taxi ride takes only 10 minutes and costs less than £2.
Most Rwandans, on the other hand, live in shacks built of earth bricks and corrugated iron and subsist on less than £3 per day.