Top British court rejects government plan to ship asylum seekers to Rwanda

Britain’s Supreme Court on Wednesday unanimously ruled that a polarizing government plan to ship asylum seekers to Rwanda could not be carried out.

The decision was the latest blow to Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who embraced the plan as a get-tough way to deal with the crush of refugees arriving on Britain’s shores as he heads into a difficult reelection campaign.

The Rwanda plan, first proposed by then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson in 2022, has been contested from the start.

Mr. Sunak said it would serve as a deterrent for the surging number of asylum seekers making the often dangerous passage across the English Channel.

But the British high court upheld a lower court ruling that the risk was too great, that Rwanda would not handle the cases appropriately and applicants could be forced to return to their country of origin.

Refugee activist groups criticized the scheme, with the Rwandan government reportedly already receiving more than $175 million from Britain to cover the expenses of taking in the would-be asylum seekers.

Mr. Sunak said after the ruling the government was determined to proceed with the plan, despite the adverse ruling.

“This was not the outcome we wanted, but we have spent the last few months planning for all eventualities and we remain completely committed to stopping the boats,” he said in a statement. “Crucially, the Supreme Court … has confirmed that the principle of sending illegal migrants to a safe third country for processing is lawful.”

The government said it soon hoped to conclude a legally binding treaty with Rwanda to deal with many of the court’s concerns, partly by barring Rwanda from sending any deported migrants back to their home countries. It also is eyeing an emergency law flatly declaring the African nation is a safe place to send British asylum-seekers, in an effort to end what the prime minister denounced as a “merry-go-round” of legal challenges.

Mr. Sunak is also considering the more radical step of dropping Britain’s adherence to a number of human rights treaties, most notably the European Convention on Human Rights. Some in the Conservative Party are urging him to take the step but it would likely risk strong domestic and international criticism.

“I am prepared to do what is necessary to get flights [to Rwanda] off,” Mr. Sunak told reporters later in the day. “I will not take the easy way out.”

Labor Party leader Keir Starmer denounced Mr. Sunak’s handling of the Rwanda case on Wednesday as a “ridiculous, pathetic spectacle.” Refugee advocates, meanwhile, hailed the court’s decision and urged the government to abandon the plan altogether.

“The plan goes against who we are as a country that stands up for those less fortunate than us and for the values of compassion, fairness and humanity,” said Enver Solomon, chief executive of the British-based Refugee Council. “The government should be focusing on creating a functioning asylum system that allows people who seek safety in the U.K. a fair hearing on our soil and provides safe routes so they don’t have to take dangerous journeys.”

British officials said this summer that more than 100,000 migrants have crossed on small boats from France to southeast England since 2018. In the most notorious of several deadly incidents, 27 would-be asylum seekers drowned in November 2021 after their boat capsized in rough waters in the English Channel.

Hard-liners in Mr. Sunak’s Conservative Party, including just-dismissed former Home Secretary Suella Braverman, have harshly criticized the prime minister’s handling of the issue, saying the government prepared no backup plan in the event the courts would rule as they did.