- House of Commons overturns House of Lords amendments to Illegal Migration Bill
- Proposed detention limits for minors and protections for modern slavery victims removed
- House of Lords to reconsider amendments in upcoming votes
House of Lords amendments to the government’s Illegal Migration Bill have been overturned once more, despite the opposition of some Conservative lawmakers.
The House of Commons rejected minor detention limitations and modern slavery protections.
The opposition of thirteen Conservatives to the decision on modern slavery was less than anticipated.
The measure has now been returned to the Lords, who may continue to request amendments.
In votes scheduled for late Monday evening, they will have the opportunity to re-approve the amendments or propose comparable alternatives. The debate is scheduled to commence after 23:00 BST, and voting could continue into Tuesday morning.
If they cave, the bill can pass before the legislature ends this week.
The measure, which was passed by the House of Representatives in March, is central to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s prominent vow to “stop” small boats from crossing the English Channel.
It would require the government to imprison and deport illegal immigrants to Rwanda or another “safe” country.
The Court of Appeal ruled the Rwanda plan unlawful last month, but ministers are appealing the decision.
The House of Lords, where opposing peers frequently change it, and the House of Representatives disagree on its final version.
They voted against nine amendments proposed by the House of Lords last week. Including one that would have limited the detention of unaccompanied child migrants to three days before deportation.
In addition, they overturned a proposed four-day detention limit for accompanied children and a prohibition on LGBT migrants’ deportation to Rwanda and nine other predominantly African nations.
MPs also rejected an amendment requiring the government to establish new legal and secure asylum routes within nine months. Ministers have committed to accomplishing this by the end of 2024.
“Performance-based cruelty”
Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick stated before the ballots that the Lord’s amendments would have created “exemptions, qualifications, and loopholes” that would have made the legislation more difficult to implement.
He stated that the ability to detain deportable individuals was necessary to prevent people from fleeing and that exempting families with children would leave a “gaping hole” in the system.
Tim Loughton, one of eleven Tory MPs who rebelled over juvenile detention limits, argued that government assurances that detention would be for the shortest possible time should be written into the law.
Stephen Kinnock, the shadow immigration minister, stated that the measure was “impractical” and an act of “performative cruelty.”
He added that Rwanda would only be able to accept a small portion of the migrants arriving in small boats. So the threat of deportation would not deter people from making the voyage.
