“I will not be hectored by out of touch lefties,” MPs in the House of Commons were told on 13 March by the Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, during the Illegal Migration Bill’s second reading.
The government has proposed this controversial migration law to prevent the influx of migrants arriving to the UK by boats. The bill aims to prevent migrants who arrive in the UK via small boats or lorries from seeking asylum, deeming any claims made to be inadmissible. This comes after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s five-point plan to tackle illegal immigration was announced to parliament, in order to combat the backlog of asylum claims by the end of next year. The law encompasses a rule in which those who arrive to the UK via illegal and unsafe routes would be detained within the first 28 days of arrival, and deported, either to Rwanda, or to a different country.
In recent years, the UK government has placed a greater emphasis on cracking down on illegal immigration. For example, the Nationality and Borders Bill was introduced to parliament in July of 2021, and became an Act of Parliament in April 2022. It includes several measures to reform the country’s immigration system such as prioritising those who arrive in the UK through safe and legal routes, while deterring those who enter the UK via illegal means. The proposal of this bill caused uproar amongst the public because its provisions were aimed at individuals who fled oppression, terror, and war out of desperation to seek asylum in the UK, and did not have the financial means to access a safer alternative. Consequently, the bill generated vast criticism, with some arguing it could lead to human rights violations and increase the level of difficulty for asylum seekers to access safety in the UK.
The Rwanda plan, which was implemented into UK law in December 2022, continued to heighten the criticism the Conservative government had been facing. The UK-Rwanda partnership allows the UK to relocate individuals, who arrive to the UK without authorisation, to Rwanda. Despite the immense backlash the introduction of the £130m policy faced, it was still implemented after it was deemed lawful by the high court. However, the government has not deported anyone to Rwanda yet, due to legal challenges brought to the European Court of Human Rights.
Despite the criticism the British government has faced over their immigration laws, the Illegal Migration Bill will now pass to its second reading, after Labour’s amendment seeking to block the bill was defeated by a majority of 63 last week. Those on the left critique the law because they believe migrants crossing the English Channel via small boats do so because the government does not provide safer, affordable alternatives, leading many individuals to choose to risk their life rather than continue living in their home country. Human rights groups such as Stand Up To Racism have slammed the law, labelling it “inhuman” as protesters took place in the streets of London, Cardiff and Glasgow on 18 March in response to the law. However, Europe’s far-right leaders have praised the bill, claiming the British government is taking the right measures. Far right members of the public have also shown their disdain towards asylum seekers, after demonstrating outside a hotel accommodating asylum seekers last month.
Furthermore, one prominent figure who has come out in opposition of the bill was Gary Lineker. The Match Of The Day host spoke out against the policy, describing it as “immeasurably cruel” over Twitter. Lineker, in the same tweet, also said the language was “not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the ’30s” sparking condemnations from the home secretary, and which led to his brief suspension from the BBC after breaking the ‘BBC’s impartiality guidelines’.
Lineker’s comments were plastered on the front pages of newspapers to bring attention to both the illegal immigration bill and the BBC’s take on the impartiality of an individual’s social media. However, now that the scrutiny over ‘Linekergate’ has declined, much of the public’s focus has shifted away from what truly matters: the treatment of refugees.
The question of whether the bill is legal remains unanswered. Legal commentators have expressed their concerns over the migration bill breaching the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) – a convention which each law introduced by the British Parliament must comply with, given the ECHR was enshrined into UK law through the Human Rights Act 1998. However, when introducing the bill, Braverman did admit to MPs that “there is more than a 50% chance” that the provisions in the new law “may not be compatible” with the ECHR.
If the bill does not go against international law, there are still questions over whether the government will be able to deport migrants who arrive to the UK by small boats; according to the principles of the UN, everyone has the right to seek asylum in another country. Despite this, the Conservative government is relying on this new law to crack down on immigration, to pursue the Rwanda policy, and for the Prime Minister to achieve his primary concern that is ‘stop the boats.’