Asylum seekers who illegally cross the Channel to reach Britain may be sent abroad for processing under new plans being considered by the Home Secretary who is in talks with “several non-EU countries” about taking migrants “in return for money”, the Daily Mail reports. The strategy, which would require law changes, is part of Pritii Patel’s push to take "a much tougher stance on unauthorised migration" and “stop people smugglers”, the paper continues.
Turkey is among among the potential third countries to which migrants could be sent to await either being “returned to their home nation or the safe country they arrived from”.
The Times says that the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar and the Isle of Man, a Crown dependency, have also “been discussed by officials” as potential options. “Other islands off the British coast, possibly in Scotland”, are “in the mix” too, the paper continues.
Ministers have scrapped proposals leaked to the press last year to send migrants to Ascension Island and St Helena in the south Atlantic. But Patel is now reportedly eyeing “countries in north Africa, such as Morocco”, and also “Denmark, which has a hard-line policy towards asylum seekers”.
On the flip side, government insiders are claiming that Patel is also planning new legal routes to the UK for migrants fleeing war zones. The Times says that “persecuted minorities such as Coptic Christians under threat in Egypt and Iraq” may be offered safe passage as well.
Australia-style system
Patel’s plan is thought to have drawn inspiration from Australia’s “Operation Sovereign Borders”, which bans “refugees who arrive by sea” from “ever settling in Australia - without exception”, Politico reports.
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