Over 30,000 migrants are roaming free on British streets as they wait to be deported to Rwanda, the Home Office said, sparking fears they could abscond. The 33,085 migrants entered Britain through illegal entries such as small boat crossings over the Channel, and are therefore unable to claim asylum under the Illegal Migration Act – a bill enforced last year.
According to the Act, it means ministers have the power to deport the migrants to their home or a safe third-world country if they will not be faced with persecution or torture.
Dan Hobbs, the Home Office director general for migration and borders, told MPs that the “vast majority” of the 33,000 migrants had been bailed from detention centres because there was no safe country to send them.
Legislation dictates that migrants cannot be detained unless there is a real chance they will be deported within a reasonable timeframe.
Another factor that is considered is whether they have a criminal record, the Home Office rules say.
During the Home Affairs committee, Mr Hobbs said that these asylum seekers may be placed in hotels, where they would be allowed to come and go – but would need to report to officials.
The reporting system may be face-to-face, via telephone, or over email, the Telegraph reported.
Also speaking during the hearing was Tory MP Tom Loughton, who said he was concerned about the “fairly strong possibility” a significant number of the 33,085 migrants could go “missing”.
He described his concern that “there is a growing cohort of people in limbo effectively since the new Act came in who, other than those with a criminal record and certain circumstances, are not in secure accommodation”.
Migrants continue to arrive at the port of Dover with over 1,000 crossings already made across the Channel in 2024.
The new arrivals come as James Cleverly, the Home Secretary, told MPs on Wednesday the number of asylum seekers being removed to Rwanda under Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s £240million programme may be “quite low”.
When pressed on how many people could end up in Rwanda, the minister said the scheme was “uncapped” but he would not “speculate” on a number.
He added: “The answer is entirely dependent on other work we’re doing in parallel,’ he added.
“It may well be if we’re successful with returns agreements, if circumstances in other countries change, it may well be that the figure is quite low.
“It could be nearly at that figure, but the point is the number of people that we might send to Rwanda is entirely contingent on a whole set of other work that we’re doing.”
