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The British government said on Tuesday it was preparing for a legal challenge to a tough new law to stop tens of thousands of migrants a year reaching the country in small boats across the English Channel.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman said the government had “pushed the boundaries of international law” with a bill that would block asylum claims by anyone who arrived in the UK illegally, and would force the government to detain and then deport them to their home countries. or a safe third country.”
They will be barred from re-entering the country.
“If you enter the UK illegally, you will be detained and removed immediately,” Braverman told MPs in the House of Commons as he introduced the “Illegal Migration Bill.”
The government says the new law, once approved by Parliament, will crack down on migrant and hobble smuggling gangs who send desperate people on dangerous journeys on one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.
The bill was slammed by the opposition
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the legislation would “take back control” of Britain’s borders – a key promise of his successful but divisive campaign to take Britain out of the European Union.
Labour’s immigration spokeswoman Yvette Cooper accused the government of “reaching out for rhetoric about refugees” without addressing the “deeply damaging mess” in Britain’s asylum system.
Visiting the control center in the Port of Dover, where officials monitor Channel traffic, Sunak said that “we must break the cycle of these criminal gangs.”
But critics say the plan is unethical and unworkable, as people fleeing war and persecution cannot be sent home, and could be the latest in a series of broken immigration promises by successive British governments.
“There’s nothing fair, humane or even practical about this plan, and it’s quite franklya Valdez-Symonds of Amnesty International UK
Braverman said those arriving by boat would be detained for 28 days and then deported, with the exception of children, those ineligible to fly and those at risk of serious harm who have grounds for appeal.
Migrants who are victims of human trafficking will be banned from using Britain’s modern slavery laws to avoid deportation, he said.
‘Yesterday’s law’ is not enough: the government
Braverman acknowledged that the bill will face legal challenges.
He said there was a chance the “established and novel” legislation would breach UK human rights law. But Braverman said he believed it was compatible with Britain’s “international obligations” under the refugee and human rights conventions.
“In the face of today’s global migration crisis, yesterday’s legislation is simply not fit for purpose,” he said.
The UK accepts fewer asylum seekers than some European countries such as Italy, Germany or France. But thousands of migrants from around the world travel to northern France every year in the hope of reaching Britain, drawn by family ties, the English language or the ease of finding work.
Most people try to travel by boat and other small boats now that the authorities have blocked other routes, such as stealing buses or trucks.
More than 45,000 people arrived in the UK by boat last year, up from 28,000 in 2021 and 8,500 in 2020. Most then seek asylum, but a backlog of more than 160,000 cases has left many sick in overcrowded processing centers or hotels. right to work.
Britain and France signed an agreement in November to increase police patrols on the coast in northern France, and Sunak said he hopes to cement further cooperation when he meets French President Emmanuel Macron at the Britain-France summit on Friday.
Previous plans with Rwanda in limbo
The British government says many make the journey as economic migrants rather than refugees, pointing to a rise last year in arrivals from Albania, a European country Britain considers safe.
Refugee groups say most of the channel’s arrivals are fleeing war, persecution or famine in countries such as Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq. The majority of people whose claims have been processed are granted asylum in the UK
“Nobody wants to see families risking their lives crossing frozen channels in tiny boats,” said Oxfam GB’s Katy Chakrabortty. “But instead of introducing this cruel bill, the UK should be offering safer and more legal routes to people who need protection.”
The British government has said that if the new law is passed, it will create a more legal path to asylum, adding that it is organized for people from Afghanistan, Hong Kong and Ukraine. But it has not been said how many people will be accepted, or when the program will start.
It is also unclear which, if any, safe countries will be willing to take in deportees from the UK.
A plan announced by Britain last year to send migrants on one-way trips to Rwanda is facing legal challenges. None have been sent to the East African country, although Britain has paid Rwanda 140 million pounds ($227 million Cdn) under the deal.
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