A protest is to be held at Bristol Harbourside on Friday (June 17) against the Government's Rwanda deportation policy. There has been backlash over the plan to fly some people, who have entered the UK illegally, to the east African country to seek asylum there instead.
It has sparked national controversy, with many high-profile critics including the leaders of the Church of England branding the policy as “immoral". The planned city centre event will be staged by Stand Up To Racism and 'Care4Calais' and is due to take place by the fountains.
A statement shared on the organisers' Facebook page reads: "The Government's Rwanda Deportation of Asylum Seekers is one more step in their 'hostile environment' designed to shore up votes for a failing government at the expense of peoples' lives and livelihoods.
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"Challenges in the courts and from the European Court of Human Rights have managed to stop the first flight, but the government will be back for another try.
"We must keep up pressure by protest on the streets." They called on people to join them from 5pm, to "make a loud protest".
What is the Rwanda deportation policy?
The UK signed a five-year deal effective from April 2022 for Rwanda to take Britain’s unwanted asylum seekers. Anyone the Home Office deems “inadmissible” to claim asylum in the UK can be forcibly removed to Rwanda on a one-way charter flight.
They will have no option to apply for asylum in Britain - and must instead make an asylum claim in Rwanda. The scheme focuses on people who arrived in the UK by “illegal” means, such as small boats in the Channel or refrigerated lorries.
They will be put in detention centres in the UK, before being put forced onto a flight to Rwanda with five days’ notice. The first arrivals are set to be put in a hostel called Hope House in the capital Kigali, which has 50 twin rooms and communal toilets, while they apply for Rwandan asylum which takes three months. They will not be detained, according to the Mirror.
The Home Secretary has told MPs it was “inevitable” there would be legal challenges to the Government’s policy. She added: “This Government will not be deterred from doing the right thing. We will not be put off by the inevitable legal last-minute challenges.”
In a reference to protests against the plans, she added: “Nor will we allow mobs to block removals.”
