According to new legislation anticipated to be revealed next week, anyone landing in the UK on a small boat will not be permitted to request asylum.
According to Home Secretary Suella Braverman, ministers will have a responsibility to “detain and rapidly remove” anyone who enters the UK via that route.
One of the five priorities for the prime minister is “stopping the boats,” as he has already stated.
The intentions were deemed “very alarming” by the British Red Cross charity.
The new law is anticipated to be introduced by Ms. Braverman on Tuesday.
Asylum seekers currently have the right to stay in the nation while their case is being reviewed. The legislation will prevent people who come in small boats from requesting asylum in the UK, send them to Rwanda or another “safe third country,” and forbid them from ever returning.
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The revelation follows several days in which Boris Johnson’s Partygate probe and Matt Hancock’s leaked WhatsApp texts dominated the news narrative.
“Make no mistake, if you come here illegally, you will not be able to stay,” Rishi Sunak told the Mail on Sunday.
He’s scheduled to go to Paris on Friday for the UK-France meeting. The UK-France summit will take place with President Emmanuel Macron for the first time since 2018.
The two politicians are anticipated to talk about the small boats crisis.
Mr. Sunak made the promise to “stop the boats once and for all,” repeating it twice in his first significant speech of 2023.
“Illegal immigration is unfair to British taxpayers, individuals who enter the country legally, and it is unfair to allow criminal gangs to go on their immoral business. I’m committed to keeping my promise to put an end to the boats, he told the Mail on Sunday.
Additionally, Ms. Braverman stated that “the sole path to the UK would be a safe and legal route” in an interview with The Sun on Sunday.
How well this new strategy will work is still a subject of much debate.
There are several “safe and lawful” ways to enter the UK, according to the Home Office. Some, however, are exclusively accessible to citizens of certain nations, such as those from Afghanistan and Ukraine, or to Hong Kong residents who have British National status.
Some asylum options only accept a specific amount of migrants who meet specific requirements.
Chris Heaton-Harris, the government’s secretary for Northern Ireland, told Sky’s Sophy Ridge: “I’m pretty convinced additional safe and legal routes will come about, which is why we already have them.
They’ve been shown to be effective. It is unquestionably best to travel along safe and legal paths. We should encourage travelers to choose those routes.
He subsequently said, “We need a complete range of things in our armory to try and combat both people trafficking and unlawful migration across the Channel,” adding that the new legislation will only be one component of the UK’s reaction.
According to the British Red Cross, the proposals won’t do anything to discourage people from risking their lives to find safety.
They were described as “vindictive and dysfunctional” by another organisation, Freedom from Torture, which offers counseling to asylum seekers.
The administration, according to Jonathan Ashworth of Labour, has been “making promises” to address the problem for 18 months.
He told Sky’s Sophy Ridge, “We’ve seen more boat crossings and the criminal gangs are getting away with more and more.
The government’s commitment is not clear-cut. There haven’t been any migrants deployed to Rwanda, and those plans are currently on hold. Moreover, there is no return policy in effect with the EU.
The administration disclosed an agreement with Rwanda last year to send asylum applicants there on one-way tickets.
Unfortunately, the proposal has not yet been implemented since it was met with vehement campaigner opposition and legal interference.
The plan, according to critics, violated human rights rules and Rwanda wasn’t a safe place to travel.
The Supreme Court, however, decided in December that the plan did not violate the UN Refugee Convention. Further legal challenges to that ruling are anticipated.
Asylum seekers may be awarded refugee status under the scheme, allowing them to remain in Rwanda or apply for asylum in a “safe third nation”.
Although the government claims to deter others from crossing the English Channel, there is no proof to date.
According to government data compiled by the BBC, a total of 45,755 migrants crossed the Channel to arrive in Britain in 2022.
When the government started compiling these statistics in 2018, this is the largest number.
According to the most recent Home Office statistics, 2,950 migrants have already crossed the Channel this year.
There are several different nations sending asylum seekers to the UK, including Albania, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria.
Most people who arrive in the UK by boat request asylum when they get there, and if their application is granted, they can apply to stay.
However, if the applicant has a “connection to a safe third nation,” such as an EU member state, their asylum application may be denied if it is submitted on or after June 28, 2022.
