UK government defends law banning ‘illegal’ migrants across the Channel

The UK government said on Tuesday it was open to legal challenges to a new law aimed at preventing migrants from reaching the country in small boats across the English Channel.

Home Secretary Swella Braverman said the government had “pushed the boundaries of international law” with a bill that would ban anyone who enters the UK through unauthorized means from seeking asylum.

But the UN refugee agency is “deeply concerned” by Britain’s illegal migration bill, saying it amounts to a ban on asylum.

The controversial plans could mean that the government detains asylum seekers entering the country illegally and then deports them “to their home country or to a safe third country.”

Critics have criticized the plans as unworkable, inhumane and legally unenforceable, pointing out that they can only succeed if the UK withdraws from several international treaties.

They also argued that there was a lack of safe and legal routes, forcing asylum seekers to cross the English Channel in this way.

“If you enter the UK illegally, you will be detained and quickly expelled,” Braverman told lawmakers in the House of Commons on Tuesday as she introduced the government’s “Illegal Migration Bill.”

The UK government says the new law, once approved by Parliament, will deter migrants and curb smuggling gangs that send desperate people on dangerous journeys along the busy waterway.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the law would “take back control” of the UK’s borders – a key to a successful but divisive campaign to pull the UK out of the European Union.

Braverman said those arriving by boat would be detained for up to 28 days and then deported, with the exception of children only.

Those who are medically unable to fly and people at risk of serious harm will have limited grounds for appeal.

She said there was a possibility that the “robust and new” legislation violated British human rights laws, although she added that she was confident it was compatible with the UK’s “international obligations” under the refugee and human rights conventions.

Critics say the plan cannot work because people fleeing war and persecution cannot be sent home, arguing that it is likely to be the latest in a series of unfulfilled immigration obligations by successive UK governments.

“The bill will not stop small boats crossing the English Channel. This will only exacerbate the trauma of the people in these boats, as well as further damage to Britain’s reputation in the world as a just and compassionate person,” said Laura Kirk-Smith, executive director of the International Rescue Committee’s humanitarian team.

Labor immigration spokeswoman Yvette Cooper accused the government of “increasing the rhetoric about refugees” without addressing the “deeply destructive chaos” in the British asylum system.

“This bill is not a solution,” she said. “This is a scam that risks exacerbating the chaos.”

The UK government says that once the new law comes into force, more legal asylum avenues will be created, in addition to those created for people from Afghanistan, Hong Kong and Ukraine.

But it is not said how many people will be accepted or when the program will start.

Collaboration with France to stop ships has stalled amid Britain’s sharp break with the European Union, though relations have improved since Sunak took office in October.

The UK and France signed an agreement in November to increase police patrols on beaches in northern France, and Sunak is looking to bolster further cooperation when he meets French President Emmanuel Macron at the UK-France summit on Friday.