The government has not actually deported any migrants to Rwanda yet, despite claims to the contrary.
Tory MP Jonathan Gullis tried to tout the success of the scheme in PMQs on Wednesday, saying: “We can see the Rwanda deterrent is working, and we have now deported our first illegal migrant.”
Actually, the government paid a failed asylum seeker £3,000 to move to Rwanda.
That’s a different scheme to the deportation programme which has caused the government so much legal trouble.
The migrant in question is understood not to have arrived in the UK via a small boat, either – and the Rwanda scheme is meant to deter the number of asylum seekers who arrive at British shores illegally.
The Sun reported on Tuesday night that a migrant was offered a chance to start anew in Africa after his asylum claim was rejected in the UK at the end of 2023.
He flew to the African country on a commercial flight on Monday.
On top of the £3,000 lump sum, the unnamed volunteer will be receiving free board and lodgings from the British government for the next five years.
It is the first time the government has ever relocated failed asylum seekers to a third country.
But this is very much not the same scheme as the plan to force – rather than pay – asylum seekers to move to Rwanda.
Those deportation flights are not due to take off for another nine to 11 weeks.
The last time the government tried to force migrants to move to Rwanda, the specially chartered plane was halted by the European Court of Human Rights at the last minute in a dramatic turn of events.
Labour’s shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper suggested the Tories had been keen to get a migrant to Rwanda ahead of Thursday’s local elections, calling it a “pre-election gimmick”.
The Tories are determined to sell it as a success story, though.
When the Dublin government complained that asylum seekers are now relocating to Ireland from the UK, fearing deportation to Rwanda, welfare secretary Mel Stride just said: “What you’re seeing now are the early signs of the deterrent effect working.”
Downing Street has also said it will not accept any asylum seekers Dublin tries to return to the UK.
And on Wednesday, the Home Office released a video showing police officers rounding up migrants to be deported – even though flights will not leave until July, at the earliest.