The UK would have to spend an estimated £169,000 ($215,000) on sending each asylum seeker that arrives in the country on a one-way trip to Rwanda, an economic impact assessment published on Monday by the government has shown.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservative government signed a deal with Rwanda last year to send thousands of migrants more than 4,000 miles to the central African country before their claims would be processed by the UK.
The Illegal Migration Bill currently going through the British Parliament seeks to discourage people from unlawfully crossing the English Channel in small boats and also prevents illegal immigrants from claiming asylum in the country.
More than 45,000 people entered the UK in small boats in 2022 alone, which is more than five times the number recorded two years earlier, British government data shows.
The average total expense of deporting each migrant, according to the Home Office, includes a payment of £105,000 to Rwanda to host each person, as well as £22,000 for flights and escorting the person, and £18,000 for processing and legal costs.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman stated that these costs must be considered alongside the impact of deterring others from attempting to enter the country and the rising cost of housing asylum seekers.
“[The] increase in pressure on the UK asylum system, public sector spending, public service and accommodation capacity, and local communities is unsustainable,” Braverman insisted.
The UK currently spends an estimated £3.6 billion on asylum support costs alone, and Braverman predicted that unless action is taken, the cost will rise to £11 billion per year by 2026.
“The economic impact assessment clearly shows that doing nothing is not an option,” she stated.
The deportation legislation has been widely condemned, with human rights organizations and activists claiming that it violates international law. The bill, if passed, would be a “clear breach” of the Refugee Convention, the UN’s refugee agency (UNHCR) has argued.
However, the High Court in London ruled in December that the policy was legal, a decision that is being challenged by several asylum seekers and human rights organizations.
If parliamentary approval is obtained, the bill will be enacted before the summer recess, according to Braverman.