UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman has said that illegal migrants coming into the UK will “not be allowed to stay”.
Braverman said that last year alone 45,000 people had entered the UK illegally in boats across the English channel.
She continued that the UK’s asylum system had been “overwhelmed” and that the Government was “now spending over £7 million a day” on hotels to accommodate migrants.
🗣️ “Enough is enough. We must stop the boats.”@SuellaBraverman, The Home Secretary. pic.twitter.com/Ni4nhuh44b
— Home Office (@ukhomeoffice) March 7, 2023
During a parliamentary session the Home Secretary stated that, as things currently stand, according to UK law approximately 100 million people worldwide could be eligible for protection.
“They are coming here,” she said.
She continued that illegal migrants were entering the UK “in flagrant breach of our laws and the will of the British people”.
Braverman announced a new Illegal Migration Bill which seeks to curb the flow of illegal migrants to ensure that resources can be concentrated on those who are genuinely fleeing conflict.
Speaking of how the bill is to be enacted she said, “If you enter Britain illegally, you will be detained and swiftly removed. Removed back to your country if it’s safe, or back to a safe third country like Rwanda.”
The bill would also mean that illegal migrants would not be able to apply for bail or seek judicial review for the first 28 days of their detention, and that those under 18, medically unfit to fly, or at risk of harm in the country they would be returned to would be eligible for removal to be delayed.
The Parliament would also set a cap on the number of refugees the UK will settle through “safe and legal routes”, while those removed from the UK would be blocked from reentry and prevented from applying for British citizenship in the future.
The Illegal Immigration Bill would also be enacted retrospectively with anyone who entered the UK illegally eligible for deportation reportedly from Tuesday.
Speaking at a press conference Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said that the number of illegals entering the UK had quadrupled in “just two years” adding that “those illegally crossing the channel are not directly fleeing a war torn country, or persecution, or an imminent threat to life”.
He continued adding that they had “travelled through safe European countries” and are “paying people smugglers huge sums” to enter the UK through what he said was a “dangerous” and “sometimes tragic” journey.
Sunak said that failure to stop the illegal migrant boats would “constrain” the UK’s ability to aid genuine refugees in the future adding that “full control” of borders would allow “us to decide who to help” while providing “safe and legal routes for those most in need”.
“We’ve tried every other way”, he said, adding that decisions over who comes into the UK should be made by the government and “not criminal gangs”.
In a statement Braverman said that the asylum system costs the British taxpayer £3 billion a year and that since 2018 some 85,000 people illegally entered the UK by small boat.
“Many came from safe countries, like Albania”, she said.
The home secretary continued that current laws were “not fit for purpose”, given the ongoing global migration crisis.
Labour Party member Yvette Cooper argued that the bill was not a solution accusing the government of “ramping up the rhetoric on refugees” and “Picking fights simply so they have someone else to blame when it all goes wrong again”.
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