The Guardian newspaper pointed out that “the British Home Office denied asylum two years ago to nine out of ten people who could freely remain in the country.” applied for asylum in 2020 were rejected and 314 people were approved.

These figures show that up to 91% of those who refused asylum in the UK could stay in the country, compared to 1% in 2019 and 38% in 2013. The data also showed a decrease in deportations and departures, which appears to be the result of a reduction in law enforcement by the Ministry of the Interior and increased use of hostile environment measures as a means of encouraging people without legal status to return home. There were 113 forced deportations in 2021, compared to 6,771 in 2010. These numbers show that Home Secretary Priti Patel’s plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda has failed to address fundamental problems in the asylum system, such as deportations.