There is no right of asylum for those arriving in the UK by boat. But at the same time, it’s a lifetime, even legal, entry ban for migrants who attempt to cross the English Channel at least once, with or without the support of human smugglers, starting off the coast of Northern Europe. These are two of the most controversial aspects of the plan that British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government is expected to present this week in response to the explosion of illegal immigrants arriving in the UK by sea. A phenomenon that exploded especially after Brexit.
Details of the bill, which is expected to come to parliament on March 7, are not yet known. However, much of the draft, which would allow for the immediate deportation of “illegal immigrants” regardless of whether or not they were granted asylum, was covered in the media. For them, any future attempt to enter the UK would be a lifetime ban and a ban on applying for a British passport forever. The plan was launched last year by former prime minister Boris Johnson, but the new leader Sunak has made the text even more rigid.
Further pressure is aimed at trying to embody the post-Brexit commitment to reduce the arrival of illegal immigrants. If the flow was mainly through the Channel tunnel before leaving the EU (with migrants crammed into trucks), then with Brexit the smugglers’ strategy approached that of their Mediterranean “colleagues”: increasingly smaller boats from the coasts of France and Belgium are heading to the UK. More than 45,000 people arrived in the country illegally in 2022, while 3,000 migrants crossed the canal in small boats this year, according to UK Home Office data.
Sunak stressed the need for a more efficient “curb” system to discourage those who rely on smugglers and criminal gangs who “profit from human trafficking.” And to effectively maintain the UK’s “border control”. The aim is primarily to counter the “small boats” crossing the Channel by challenging the real danger of shipwreck and tragedy. “Let me be clear, those who came here illegally will no longer stay,” he interrupted.
Currently, anyone who comes to the UK has the right to asylum under the European Convention on Human Rights and the UN Refugee Convention. However, the government wants to circumvent these conventions by sending illegal asylum seekers to safe third countries. Last April, Johnson’s government reached an agreement with Rwanda: to provide funds for the African country in exchange for welcoming illegal immigrants to the UK. The deal has yet to be implemented due to a number of appeals from NGOs, but last December the High Court in London agreed with the executive, deciding that the deportation was in accordance with British law.
The Refugee Council, the main British NGO in the industry, opposed such a scenario, accusing ministers of breaking the commitments made by the United Kingdom by signing and ratifying international conventions. According to Enver Solomon, the council’s director general, such “flawed” laws will not stop small boats and risk turning those fleeing war into criminals: “All this is impractical and costly,” Solomon stressed on the BBC’s microphones. . “This law will not reduce the deaths in the Channel or the chaos and incompetence that characterizes our asylum system,” said Sonya Sceats, Executive Director of Freedom from Torture. Other criticisms came from the Red Cross that these plans were “extremely worrying”.
Source: Today IT
Karen Clayton is a seasoned journalist and author at The Nation Update, with a focus on world news and current events. She has a background in international relations, which gives her a deep understanding of the political, economic and social factors that shape the global landscape. She writes about a wide range of topics, including conflicts, political upheavals, and economic trends, as well as humanitarian crisis and human rights issues.
