By: Jason Sha

This past week, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson defended his newly implemented policy of electronically tagging asylum seekers entering the country – a one-year government program that many heavily oppose. Many against the policy include refugee organizations or human rights lawyers, stating that the British government is “treat[ing] people seeking safe haven like criminals.”

The main concern of those opposing the monitoring, such as that of human rights lawyer Sue Willman, is the severe, damaging mental toll on those coming from areas of previous torture or government abuse. Willman, who is also the chairwoman of the Human Rights Committee at The Law Society, stated that, “The amount of suffering that can be caused to someone who is a torture survivor or who is mentally ill far outweighs the very minimal benefits for the government.” Essentially, the use of such measures to monitor someone with an extremely low chance (one percent) of participating in further criminal activities after being released on bail is not worth the pain induced upon those being watched.

Johnson’s defense of the program was put into action on Tuesday when a chartered flight from Rwanda to Britain was grounded in line with Britain’s newly implemented policy. Johnson went as far as to say that he was “proud” of the policy, another comment that placed him under fire from critics. This flight was the first of a five-year deal signed by both countries earlier in April. Those under the policy would be passed under a series of tests to determine whether one should be tagged, although many see these tests as a barbaric and useless implementation due to the inevitability of being tagged despite these tests.

As of this time, the Home Office of Britain has not released the exact number of asylum seekers under the program, although a spokesperson stated that 130 people on the next flight from Rwanda could be encompassed within the program. The British government is still planning for the next flight of refugees coming in from the country.