Asylum seekers are fleeing the UK to Ireland to avoid being sent to Rwanda

The so-called Rwanda Plan, voted on in April, aims to deter migrants and asylum seekers from arriving in Britain illegally in dangerous boats across the English Channel. Under the agreement with Rwanda, people should be able to travel by air to the African country, where the asylum process must continue. Those who are granted asylum must remain there.

A week ago, British authorities began raids to arrest asylum seekers who may be sent to Rwanda. The Guardian writes that charities are now testifying that many are leaving their places of refuge to escape the authorities, and are raising the alarm that people will end up in vulnerable situations or at risk of exploitation.

The emerging migrant crisis

According to Irish Justice Minister Helen McEntee, 80 percent of asylum seekers in the Republic come from the UK, via Northern Ireland, and the Justice Minister has now been tasked with quickly drawing up new legislation to enable Ireland to return asylum seekers to Ireland. United Kingdom, writes BBC.

The governments of Great Britain and Ireland are under pressure over the refugee issue. Reducing the flow of migrants is a crucial electoral issue, and with just months to go until the UK general election, the Conservative Party is in deep crisis.

Sunak is not sitting safely

In last week's local elections, the Labor Party made gains at the expense of the Conservative Party, which held its worst local elections in the first decade of the twenty-first century. This fall, the Conservatives were threatened with a historic loss in the parliamentary elections.

The right-wing brigade of the Conservative Party, led by sacked former Home Secretary Suella Braverman, is now demanding that Rishi Sunak make a rightward shift in his policies and implement the Rwanda Plan, the Guardian writes. But many experts believe Sunak is currently living out his final months as Prime Minister.

How will this be done and will it have the intended effect? See more at State Department: Send Them to Africa on SVT Play.