The home minister has announced a new law intended to prevent unauthorized Channel crossings.
Suella Braverman told members of parliament that the asylum system was overburdened. And that the proposed reforms would “stop the boats… bringing tens of thousands to our shores.”
Those who illegally enter the United Kingdom will be deported and prohibited from returning. There will also be a limit on the number granted asylum.
Labour referred to the legislation as a “scam that threatens to exacerbate the disorder.”
Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said: “We need serious action to stop dangerous boat crossings. Which are placing lives at risk and undermining border security. Instead, today’s statement is reminiscent of groundhog day.”
More than 45,000 individuals entered the United Kingdom via Channel crossings last year, up from approximately 300 in 2018.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s top five objectives include stopping small boats because voters care about it.
“They are coming here,” Ms. Braverman said in the Commons.
She stated that the new Illegal Migration Bill included the following powers:
- The duty of the home secretary to detain and remove illegal immigrants to Rwanda or a “safe” third country will take precedence over someone’s right to claim asylum.
- For the first 28 days of detention, migrants would not be eligible for parole or judicial review.
- Those under 18 years old, medically unable to fly, or at risk of grave injury in the country. To which they are being removed would be able to postpone their removal.
- Any additional asylum claims will be evaluated remotely after removal.
- Parliament has set a limit on the number of refugees the United Kingdom will resettle via “safe and legal routes.”
- People expelled from the United Kingdom would no longer be permitted to return or pursue British citizenship in the future.
- Anyone arriving illegally after Tuesday faces deportation under the law, which would apply retroactively.
Ms. Braverman stated that the new law would drastically reduce the number of current challenges by removing illegal immigrants’ ability to use modern servitude laws to prevent their removal.
She has previously stated that she believes individuals seeking to remain in the United Kingdom have abused human trafficking laws, although this has been contested.
The home secretary told members of parliament that she could not “make a definitive statement of compatibility” regarding her legislation under the Human Rights Act.
However, she described the United Kingdom’s approach as “robust and novel,” adding. “I am confident that this measure is compatible with international law.”
The home secretary’s statement to the House of Commons outlines politics and goals but raises legal questions.
For a start, the UK must examine asylum claims. But how does it do that if it is denying people the right to make that claim?
Second, there are stringent rules regarding the detention of individuals who will not be immediately removed from the United Kingdom.
Given the United Kingdom’s limited number of return agreements with secure third countries. It is unclear where all of these individuals will be warehoused and whether this constitutes unlawful imprisonment.
Suella Braverman told members of parliament that the legislation will not be accompanied by a formal certification that it complies with human rights law, but she did not explain why.
The fact that Ms. Braverman is unable to provide it indicates that her attorneys working behind the scenes are informing her that it could be dismantled in court, and she is obligated to inform members of parliament of this possibility.
Ms. Braverman told the Commons that many of the individuals arriving on small boats were from “safe countries like Albania” and that “almost all passed through France.”
She stated that “the vast majority” consisted of male adults under the age of 40 who were “wealthy enough to pay criminal organizations thousands of pounds for passage.”
She stated that the asylum system costs British taxpayers £3 billion annually. With £6 million being spent each day to house asylum seekers in hotels.
Also she mentioned that the United Kingdom had given asylum to refugees from Afghanistan and Ukraine.
However, the home minister told MPs that illegal immigration “violates our laws and the will of the British people.”
“It would betray the will of the people we have been elected to serve if a government did not respond to waves of illegal immigrants breaching our frontiers”.
If you illegally enter the United Kingdom, you will be detained and promptly deported. Removed to your home country if it is secure. Or to a safe third country like Rwanda if it is not.
That is exactly what this measure will accomplish, and that is how we will stop the boats.
Ahead of the announcement, the official spokesman for the prime minister stated that once the small boat crossings were halted, more secure and legal routes would be established.
When asked if it would not make more sense to increase the routes first, he responded, “Certainly we do not believe it is appropriate to introduce those routes when there is a lack of clarity regarding the number of people entering the country.”
