Concerns voiced in the UK over prosecution and the transfer of asylum seekers

As the number of asylum seekers given sanctuary in the UK reaches a 30-year high, charities have expressed worry that they may be criminalized or relocated to Rwanda.

According to the Guardian, 75 percent of asylum petitions were accepted in the year to March, with Syrians, Eritreans, and Sudanese constituting the majority of those fleeing countries with traditionally high acceptance rates.

However, the majority of them reached the UK by small boats or other irregular means, which are now subject to punishment under the Nationality and Borders Act, which was approved last month.

The same dataset also showed an increase in the number of Afghans making their way to the UK via the dangerous English Channel crossing, indicating that the resettlement schemes launched after the fall of Kabul to the Taliban last year are not working.

“The government has said it is giving Afghans a ‘warm welcome,’ but these figures reveal that many have felt they have been left with no option but to take this dangerous route to make it to the UK,” said Marley Morris, associate director for migration at the Institute for Public Policy Research.

“The government’s new plans in response to the Channel crossings could mean that Afghan asylum seekers will be sent to Rwanda.

“Contrary to the government’s claims, there are few safe routes for people forced into small boats to make it to the UK.”

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