UK Illegal Migration Bill

What’s in today’s article?

• Why in news?
• What is English Channel?
• Illegal Migration Bill (IMB)
• Why U.K. is bringing the migration bill now?
• What measures does the Bill propose?
• What are the criticisms of this bill?

 

Why in news?

• In a victory for the Rishi Sunak government, the U.K. House of Lords passed the Illegal Migration Bill.
  • The bill will become law after it obtains royal assent.
• The law will make it the Home Secretary’s duty to remove illegal migrants from the U.K. and significantly change existing protections for asylum seekers.
• By decreasing access to routes to asylum, the Bill seeks to deter illegal migration to the country – especially via small boats crossing the English Channel.

 

What is English Channel?

• About

  • 

Image Caption: English Channel

• The English Channel, also known simply as "the Channel," is a body of water that separates southern England from northern France. 
• It is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean and is part of the western extent of the North Sea. 
• The Channel is one of the busiest shipping areas in the world and has significant historical, cultural, and economic importance.

• Location: 
  • The English Channel is situated between England to the north and France to the south. 
  • It is approximately 560 kilometers long and varies in width from about 240 kilometers at its widest point to just 34 kilometers at its narrowest point, which is the Strait of Dover.
• Strait of Dover: 
  • The Strait of Dover is the narrowest part of the English Channel, and it is where the waters of the Channel and the North Sea meet. 
  • It connects the English Channel to the North Sea and separates England from mainland Europe.

 

Illegal Migration Bill (IMB)

Why U.K. is bringing the migration bill now?

• Political context
  • Policies to regulate immigration, specifically of undocumented workers and asylum seekers, have always been a sensitive political issue in the U.K.
  • With the rise of anti-immigrant sentiments fuelling some aspects of the Brexit campaign, the U.K. Conservative Party has been a strong advocate for tighter immigration policies.
  • The demand for tighter policy is aimed at protecting U.K. jobs or shifting the focus to skilled workers arriving through legal routes.
• Current context
  • Recently, all major developed countries including U.K. has witnessed rise in numbers of asylum seekers. This is due to:
    • The recent years of the pandemic and the economic distress it has caused across developing countries;
    • The displacement of certain communities in countries such as Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq;
    • Displacement caused by Russia – Ukraine war.
  • Also, this step was taken to fulfil a promise made in January 2023 by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, to “stop the boats”.
    • The so-called small boat arrivals comprised approximately 45% of the total asylum applications made in 2022, which was close to 89,000.

 

What measures does the Bill propose?

• The Bill, when passed into law by the U.K. Parliament, will: 
  • require that the Home Secretary detain and remove those arriving in the U.K. illegally, either to Rwanda or another “safe” third country;
  • would deny migrants the right to bail or judicial review for the first 28 days of their immigration detention; 
  • block such migrants from returning to the U.K. or seeking British citizenship going forward.
• The Bill would also seek to set a cap on the number of refugees who will be permitted to settle in the U.K. through “safe and legal routes”.
  • This, at the moment, only applies to people from Afghanistan and Ukraine, or British National status holders in Hong Kong. 
• The new Bill would also permit the government to detain children for up to eight days, and that too only if they applied for bail.

 

What are the criticisms of this bill?

• Incompatible with international law
  • Recently, the U.K.’s Home Secretary admitted that there was a more than 50% chance that the new bill is incompatible with international law.
  • This is more evident in the concept of non-refoulement - that refugees should not be returned to a country where they face threats to life and liberty.
    • This concept is encapsulated in the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees as well as the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
    • U.K. is a signatory of both the conventions.
• Criticised by UNHCR
  • The proposed plan to deport to origin or remove asylum seekers arriving in the U.K. by boat to a third country has been sharply criticised by the UN refugee agency, UNHCR.
• Extinguishes the right to seek refugee protection in the UK
  • If adopted, the new bill would deny the right to seek refugee protection to people arriving irregularly in the UK, such as those risking their lives to cross the English Channel in small boats.
  • The effect of this Bill (in this form) would be to deny a fair hearing and to deny protection to many genuine refugees in need of safety and asylum.

 

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Q1) What is UNHCR?

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency that is responsible for protecting and assisting refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and other people who are forced to flee their homes due to conflict, persecution, or other reasons.

 

Q2) What is Strait of Dover?

The Strait of Dover, also known simply as the Dover Strait, is a narrow and critical waterway that separates the southeastern coast of England from the northern coast of France. It connects the English Channel to the North Sea and is one of the busiest and most important shipping lanes in the world.

 

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Source: The U.K.’s illegal migration Bill on its way to becoming law | UNHCR | United Nations | Indian Express