In May 2022, an Iraqi man crossed the English Channel from France in a small inflatable boat and applied for asylum in Britain. At that time, the British government, led by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, had a controversial plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda. Despite the government selecting 130 individuals for deportation, including the Iraqi man, and chartering a Boeing 767, legal challenges by volunteer lawyers led to an order from the European Court of Human Rights preventing his forced deportation. The Iraqi man and six others were removed from the plane, causing significant embarrassment for the British government and costing taxpayers 500,000 pounds for the canceled flight. This incident was a major setback for Johnson's plan, which aimed to deter illegal immigration.

A 2023 survey revealed that most Britons regretted leaving the European Union, with 35% feeling financially worse off. A key driver for Brexit was the desire to escape the burden of refugees. After Brexit, Britain left the Dublin Agreement, which regulated asylum seekers among EU countries. This meant Britain could no longer legally return asylum seekers to EU countries they had passed through. While legal asylum applications decreased, illegal crossings via the English Channel surged, reaching 40,000 in 2022. This left Britain in a difficult position, unable to deport these individuals and forced to house them in hotels at a daily cost of 4.7 million pounds by April 2022. This worsened the housing crisis and highlighted the unintended consequences of Brexit on immigration.

In April 2022, Boris Johnson announced an agreement with Rwanda for Britain to send asylum seekers there for processing. Rejected asylum seekers would remain in Rwanda, and even accepted ones would stay there, with no right of return to the UK. Rwanda agreed to this in exchange for 120 million pounds in British investment, plus funds for transporting and housing the asylum seekers. This plan sparked widespread criticism from human rights groups, who accused Britain of violating the 1951 UN Refugee Convention. Despite the initial attempt being blocked by the European Court of Human Rights, later Prime Ministers, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, continued to pursue the policy. Sunak managed to pass a new law in April, declaring Rwanda a safe country and allowing the government to disregard European court rulings on deportations.

Asylum seekers often cross from France to Britain because France has a higher intake, tougher living conditions for asylum seekers, and a lower acceptance rate for asylum applications. Britain has recently been delaying asylum decisions, with over 100,000 pending applications by late 2023, costing 3 billion pounds annually, including 8 million pounds daily for housing. The new 'Safety of Rwanda' bill, passed by Sunak, aims to circumvent the Supreme Court's ruling and deem Rwanda safe for deportations. Over 5,000 asylum seekers are targeted for deportation, with an estimated cost of 540 million pounds for the first 300, or 2 million pounds per person. Britain has already paid Rwanda 240 million pounds. Sunak expects the first flight by early July 2024 and has pledged further payments of 370 million pounds over five years, even if deportations don't occur. The overall cost for deporting 30,000 asylum seekers over five years could reach 4.5 billion pounds, or 150,000 pounds per person. The Labour Party opposes this plan, calling it a waste of public funds, while the Conservatives argue it's a cost-effective deterrent against illegal immigration.