A migration expert has outlined a crucial detail about the controversial bill to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda – it’s not the only option we have to deal with high levels of refugees.
The bill finally passed through parliament on Monday, meaning it’s well on its way to becoming law despite ongoing concerns about human rights.
When three men, one woman and a seven-year-old girl died in the Channel early on Tuesday morning while trying to cross in a small boat, Rishi Sunak claimed the tragic incident “underscore why you need a deterrent” like this bill.
However, UK and EU refugees and migration expert, Zoe Gardner, told Channel 4 News last night that there was still a clear alternative.
She said: “The government says it would do anything to stop people taking these risky journeys and to stop these deaths.
“But the one thing it won’t do is give people a safe alternative way to travel.
“And that the one thing that would actually stop the deaths.
“We need to give people an alternative way to get across the channel.
“We could then know who they are, we could give them orderly paperwork in order to come here, and then put them in an orderly asylum system.”
Sharing the clip on her personal social media account, Gardner also suggested that without safe routes, “we’ll always be waiting for the next tragedy”.
The Care4Calais CEO, Steve Smith, told the channel that many migrants currently on the French coast had not even heard of the Rwanda bill.
He added that they have also been through major trauma, and so are happy to “take the risk” of being one of those the government is hoping to deport within the next year.