Britain is trying to set up an offshore hub to handle illegal immigrants arriving by small boat across the English Channel, Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Minister Dominic Raab confirmed Thursday.
Following reports that Albania is approaching as a potential destination for offshore processing, the country’s Foreign Minister, Olta Xhaçka, said: twitter It was “fake news”.
Rab told Times Radio Thursday that Britain was looking for a route as a deterrent to channel intersections without mentioning any particular country.
“We are considering an international partnership that can remove processing from the UK to reduce the pull factor, which means that people think they can take advantage of these routes.” Rab said.
“Looking at the Australian experience” and “discussing this with the Danes,” Rab said in a conversation with LBC Radio.
“If possible, and we want to make sure that processing that would depend on the goodwill and cooperation of our partners can be done elsewhere,” he said.
Asked if this includes Albania and Rwanda, Rab said: I want to test my ideas, so I’ll do everything I can to solve this problem. “
Downing Street also said the minister “wants to leave all options on the table.”
An official spokesman for the Prime Minister said Britain had been in talks with “many countries” but refused to “enter speculation about ongoing discussions with individually nominated countries.”
A home office spokesperson said “it’s important to do everything possible” to prevent migrants from embarking on dangerous journeys and “break the business model of criminal organizations that exploit people.”
“People should claim asylum in the first safe country they arrive in,” a spokesman said, “having maritime deterrence on the channel and working with international partners” to stop the crossing. Added that is important.
On Wednesday, MPs Commons Home Affairs Select Committee heard This year, more than 23,000 illegal immigrants have successfully passed through the channel, with a total of 31,115 asylum seekers for the year ending June 2021.
It is unclear how many souls have been lost at sea, but the ban on travel during the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus pandemic has given smugglers a great advantage in crossing waterways.
MP heard that if each immigrant pays about 4,000 euros (£ 3,380, $ 4,530), a boat carrying 88 people two weeks ago will cost about 350,000 euros (£ 296,000, $ 396,500).
Elimination of illegal immigrants has also proven difficult, as the UK currently has no agreement with the European Union or most European countries regarding the return of illegal immigrants.
Only five small boats have been returned to Europe this year, Tom Pursglove, Minister of Interior and Justice, told the Commission.
According to the new immigration regulations (pdf), If the asylum-seeker permits or applies for asylum in a safe third country, or if he / she has passed or has a connection to a safe third country and can be protected from that country, apply for asylum. Is not allowed.
However, if the applicant is not removed from the UK within 6 months, the application can be heard in the UK.
Pursglove confirmed that during the first six months of 2021, 4,561 people received a notice of intent not to be allowed, but according to charity, the refugee council (pdf), Only seven were considered unacceptable by September, and none were transferred to other countries.
Asked about the costs of offshore and disallowed clauses, Pursglove said the economic impact assessment of the new nationality and border bill was “
It will be released soon. “
According to Pursglove, the top five countries arriving in the UK in 2019 are Iranians (29%), Iraqis (18%), Syrians (9%), Eritreas (7%) and Sudanese (8%). )is. ). The number of small Albanian boats arriving is increasing, and the government is still “seeking quantification.”
The minister told MP that Britain had successfully negotiated a return agreement with Albania. He also quoted examples of claims made by Iraqi citizens in 2019 and 2020, stating that there is not always a link between nationality and asylum claims, most of which were rejected.
PA contributed to this report.
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Lily Zhou is a freelance writer who mainly covers the British news of The Epoch Times.