Minister for Justice and Tackling Illegal Migration, Tom Pursglove MP, explained why the innovative UK-Rwanda partnership is a first step towards ending illegal migration to Europe.

Minister Pursglove shared his views on the current state of immigration and the unsustainable influx of illegal migrants during a meeting with the ECR Migration Policy Group, on July 5.

He noted that 100 million people around the world are displaced due to war, conflict and famine. At the same time, he emphasized that the British government has a responsibility to their electorate, which keeps on voting for stricter migration policies.

Recently, the UK and Rwanda concluded a “Migration and Economic Development Partnership for mutual benefit”. As partners, they will set a new standard for those in need of protection, while at the same time deterring migrants who risk their lives entering illegally, as well as ending the business model of organized criminal networks operating human trafficking rings.

In his opening remarks, Working Group Co-chairman Jorge Buxadé highlighted that illegal migrants entering the UK and Spain share similar experiences. He touched upon the events of recent weeks when illegal migrants crossed the border into Spain via Algeria and Morocco. Both countries use illegal immigration flows as hybrid warfare against the EU in an attempt to extort concessions.

The Home Office’s migrant flights to Rwanda show that the European Court of Human Rights has become yet another hurdle for national governments to overcome to protect their own borders and citizens.