An Iranian man who claimed asylum in Greece first before crossing the Channel in a small boat and settling in Britain says the threat of deportations to Rwanda will not stop migrants from coming here.
Nima Moradi insisted the government’s ‘stop the boats’ plan – which finally passed through Parliament on Monday night – will have hardly any deterrent effect.
He admitted he had been granted asylum in Greece, then pondered a move to Germany before deciding on the UK.
Asylum seekers who have made it have been receiving Home Office letters warning them they risk being flown to Rwanda because they failed to seek asylum in the first ‘safe country’ they passed through.
But migrants camping in Dunkirk on the northern French coast have been declaring they will still try to cross to UK – and keep coming back even if deported.
Iranian migrant Nima Moradi has criticised the government’s Rwanda deportation bill, saying it would not act as a deterrent to many more asylum seekers wanting to cross the Chnanel
The BBC witnessed migrants boarding a small boat south of Calais in the early hours of yesterday morning, later confirmed to be the one which ran aground with five people dying
Mr Moradi believes many more will follow, while also criticising what he called the lack of ‘safe routes’ being offered for asylum seekers.
He told BBC2’s Newsnight programme, hosted by Victoria Derbyshire, last night: ‘When I left my country I wasn’t thinking about destination, I was thinking about being safe.
‘When I was in Greece I was thinking to go to Germany, but when I was granted asylum I thought because I can speak English I will go to England.’
When asked whether the Rwanda bill would stop asylum seekers from coming to the UK, he said ‘no’, adding: ‘You see how many people are trying to cross the Channel last night.’
More than 400 people crossed the Channel yesterday despite a tragedy earlier in the day when five migrants including a child died making the attempt.
Three people were arrested today on suspicion of immigration offences in connection with the tragedy.
The new law aims to clear the way to send asylum seekers who cross the Channel in small boats on a one-way flight to Kigali.
Rwanda’s government has negotiated a multi-million-pound deal to process asylum applications by people found to have illegally tried to enter the UK.
But Mr Moradi suggested many people would not take the threat seriously.
He said: ‘People have access to information, they already know the law has passed but still they will try to do it because they will say, ‘It’s not going to apply to me”.’
Nima Moradi was granted asylum in Greece after fleeing Iran but decided to head to the UK
He told BBC2’s Newsnight programme, in an interview with Victoria Derbyshire, that many migrants would believe Rishi Sunak’s new Rwanda would ‘not apply’ to them
Last year, there were 67,337 asylum applications to the UK. Of those, 29,437 came from people who arrived in small boats. The Government claims the Rwanda scheme will act as a deterrent, however it only has the capacity to send 200 people a year to the East African country
Last year, there were 67,337 asylum applications to the UK and, of those, 29,437 came from people who arrived in small boats.
The Rwanda scheme’s capacity is 200 people per year, meaning if the scheme had been running last year just 0.7 per cent of small boat migrants would be deported.
Mr Moradi told last night’s programme how it took him four attempts to get on a small boat crossing the Channel, paying £3,000 – provided by his family – to people-smugglers organising the trip.
He said: ‘When you’re there you are so desperate, you’re risking your life – you know it’s dangerous, you might die, but you want to gamble because you have no other option.
‘It was scary – I cannot swim, I thought I might die. But did I have another option to make it here?
‘No, there wasn’t a safe route – the only way for me to claim asylum was crossing the Channel.
Mr Moradi said he fled Iran because he faced persecution as a critic of the governing regime before being granted asylum in Greece but deciding to move on.
He said: ‘I was granted asylum in Greece but I was living in tents without access to electricity, without having access to hygiene facilities.
‘If I wanted to get a meal I had to queue for six, seven hours. I had no future, I couldn’t integrate to the society.’
Meanwhile, the National Crime Agency today said investigators were questioning two men from Sudan, aged 19 and 22, and a third 22-year-old suspect from south Sudan following yesterday’s five deaths in the Channel.
The French Maritime Prefecture has published a photo of the boat involved in yesterday’s disaster – it shows mainly men sat on each side of the boat
Yesterday afternoon, dozens of migrants were brought ashore by Border Force and RNLI ships
It is thought the tragedy yesterday happened after a small boat was launched from Wimereux in northern France, between Boulogne and Calais
They were arrested on suspicion of facilitating illegal immigration and entering the UK illegally in connection with the tragedy.
The 55 surviving boat passengers have already been interviewed and are expected to be spoken to further in the coming days.
A dinghy carrying more than 100 people set off from Wimereux at around 6am on Tuesday but got into difficulty.
Three men, a woman and a girl died, according to the French coastguard.
Some 49 people were rescued but 58 others refused to leave the boat and continued their journey towards the UK, the coastguard said in a statement.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said yesterday the tragedy ‘underscores why you need a deterrent’.
He said: ‘We want to prevent people making these very dangerous crossings. If you look at what’s happening, criminal gangs are exploiting vulnerable people. They are packing more and more people into these unseaworthy dinghies.
‘We’ve seen an enormous increase in the numbers per boat over the past few years.
‘This is what tragically happens when they push people out to sea and that’s why, for matters of compassion more than anything else, we must actually break this business model and end this unfairness of people coming to our country illegally.’
Rishi Sunak announced ‘nothing will stand in our way’ as he vowed to get flights to Rwanda started ahead of his ‘stop the boats’ plan finally being approved by Parliament on Monday
More than 400 people crossed the Channel in small boats on Tuesday including these migrants brought to shore in Kent by the RNLI Dover lifeboat
People believed to be migrants were seen here disembarking from a British Border Force vessel after arriving at Dover yesterday
The UK’s Supreme Court has deemed Rwanda an unsafe country for sending migrants to, citing government crackdowns on critics and media, a lack of independence among judges and lawyers and high rejections of asylum claims.
The Rwanda Bill and a new treaty are intended to prevent further legal challenges to the stalled asylum scheme – compelling judges to regard the east African country as safe and giving ministers the power to ignore emergency injunctions.
Some £290million has already been committed to the Rwanda scheme, with a further £100million earmarked over the next two years.
The cost of putting each migrant on a plane is expected to reach £11,000, while Rwanda will get £20,000 for each asylum seeker relocated there and a £120 million top-up once 300 have arrived.