UK to unveil latest bid to stop migrants crossing Channel
The bill, which if passed will also bar anyone who has been deported after the trip from re-entering the UK and ever claiming British citizenship, has been heavily criticized by human rights groups.
They claim it is impractical and would unfairly target refugees, but ministers insist the new rules are needed to curb dangerous voyages down one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.
Their dangerousness has been underscored by several tragedies in recent years, including in November 2021 when at least 27 people died after a dinghy was deflated.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who came to power last October, said curbing arrivals is one of his government’s top priorities this year as conservative voters and the media mount pressure on the issue.
The new legislation comes days ahead of a summit on Friday with French President Emmanuel Macron where improving cooperation to “stop the boats” is expected to be high on the agenda.
A spokeswoman for Britain’s Home Office, which is responsible for enforcing the borders, said France was “vital” in curbing the crossings but stressed the need for the law.
“(It) will ensure that anyone entering the UK illegally is arrested and promptly returned to their home country or a safe third country,” she added.
‘Unworkable’
The controversial plans stem from last year’s Nationality and Borders Act, which, among other things, allowed the government to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda.
The High Court has ruled the system legal after a challenge, but that decision faces further appeals, meaning no flights have taken place there yet.
Ministers had hoped the threat of a one-way ticket to Kigali, where migrants would stay if granted asylum, would prevent crossing the English Channel.
But more than 45,000 migrants arrived on small boats on the coasts of south-east England last year – an annual increase of 60 per cent on a route that has been growing in popularity every year since 2018.
Almost 3,000 have arrived so far this year, another jump compared to the same period in 2022.
Scores of migrants, including children, were brought ashore at the port of Dover in south-east England on Border Force vessels during the last crossings on Monday.
The Government insists that the situation requires going further and that the new legislation will not breach Britain’s obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
However, it has yet to be confirmed to which so-called “safe third countries” Channel migrants will be deported.
Right-wing groups and opposition politicians have castigated the plans.
“It’s impractical, costly and won’t stop the boats,” said Enver Solomon, CEO of the Refugee Council.
‘Red meat’
Currently, anyone applying for asylum in the UK is allowed to remain in the country while their case is heard under the protection of the ECHR and the UN. They are housed in hotels and other accommodation by the government, but cannot work legally.
The surge in cross-Channel travel has led to a growing backlog of asylum cases, with more than 160,000 awaiting a decision by earlier this year – an annual increase of more than 60,000.
Refugee advocates are urging the government to offer more alternative legal ways to prevent crossing the English Channel.
Sunak’s spokesman told reporters that new routes would be established “once we are in control of our borders.”
“We want to continue to be an open and generous country,” he added, noting that ministers wanted the “broad” new measures to be implemented “as soon as possible”.
In Dover, the scene of anti-migrant protests and counter-demonstrations over the weekend, locals were uniformly skeptical of the bill.
“It’s just for show – even the government knows it won’t work,” said a 58-year-old resident who asked to remain anonymous, adding it was simply “red meat for the grassroots”.
Matthew Stevens, 43, agreed his provisions “are not going to happen”.
“Too many people are benefiting from it for it to stop,” he said of the criminal gangs running illegal operations across the English Channel.