UK Illegal Migration Bill
Forced To Flee Advocacy Statement
7 March 2023
7 March 2023
Forced To Flee are deeply concerned by the United Kingdom Government's new legislation to prevent channel crossings. Today, the Home Secretary, the Rt. Hon Suella Braverman MP, announced the Illegal Migration Bill, which will:
(i) place an annual cap on the number of refugees the United Kingdom will take in;
(ii) allow the immediate detention of 'illegal' arrivals without bail or judicial review within the first 28 days of detention and;
(iii) make it harder for those facing removal notices to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights and disqualifies 'illegal entrants' from using modern slavery legislation to prevent removal.
Let's be clear. According the Refugee Council, in 2021, 98% of those crossing the Channel in a small boat make an asylum claim. Also, many refugee and human rights organisations such as Human Rights Watch and Oxfam call this new legislation unworkable.
Aside from all of that, the United Kingdom has an international obligation under the United Nations Refugee Convention to protect and shelter some of the most vulnerable people on the planet, fleeing war, persecution and violence. The Home Secretary would like us to believe that all of these people are coming to Britain when that is simply not the case, as 4 in 5 refugees stay in the region of their displacement, and according to the UN Refugee Agency's statistics, the United Kingdom received only 8% of the total asylum applications across the European Union+ and United Kingdom combined. The Home Secretary’s language is also criminalising those who need our help and creating a hostile environment in the United Kingdom, by calling those seeking economic betterment and fleeing war, persecution and violence, an 'invasion'.
Therefore, it is our opinion that the Illegal Migration Bill will not stop the issue the government seeks to address, but rather only takes the United Kingdom away from its international commitment and harms more than it ‘helps’. We call on the government to end their rhetoric surrounding those crossing the channel as criminals. No one gets in a boat if the land is safer than the sea, and when those in need come knocking on our door, we have a legal and moral obligation to open it. The Government says the people of Britain are on their side, but let’s show them otherwise - that people all across the United Kingdom welcome refugees.
(i) place an annual cap on the number of refugees the United Kingdom will take in;
(ii) allow the immediate detention of 'illegal' arrivals without bail or judicial review within the first 28 days of detention and;
(iii) make it harder for those facing removal notices to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights and disqualifies 'illegal entrants' from using modern slavery legislation to prevent removal.
Let's be clear. According the Refugee Council, in 2021, 98% of those crossing the Channel in a small boat make an asylum claim. Also, many refugee and human rights organisations such as Human Rights Watch and Oxfam call this new legislation unworkable.
Aside from all of that, the United Kingdom has an international obligation under the United Nations Refugee Convention to protect and shelter some of the most vulnerable people on the planet, fleeing war, persecution and violence. The Home Secretary would like us to believe that all of these people are coming to Britain when that is simply not the case, as 4 in 5 refugees stay in the region of their displacement, and according to the UN Refugee Agency's statistics, the United Kingdom received only 8% of the total asylum applications across the European Union+ and United Kingdom combined. The Home Secretary’s language is also criminalising those who need our help and creating a hostile environment in the United Kingdom, by calling those seeking economic betterment and fleeing war, persecution and violence, an 'invasion'.
Therefore, it is our opinion that the Illegal Migration Bill will not stop the issue the government seeks to address, but rather only takes the United Kingdom away from its international commitment and harms more than it ‘helps’. We call on the government to end their rhetoric surrounding those crossing the channel as criminals. No one gets in a boat if the land is safer than the sea, and when those in need come knocking on our door, we have a legal and moral obligation to open it. The Government says the people of Britain are on their side, but let’s show them otherwise - that people all across the United Kingdom welcome refugees.
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References
- UN Refugee Agency. 'Asylum in the UK', retrievable at: https://www.unhcr.org/uk/asylum-in-the-uk.html
- Refugee Council. 'An analysis of Channel crossings & asylum outcomes November 2021', retrievable at: https://www.refugeecouncil.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Channel-crossings-and-asylum-outcomes-November-2021.pdf.
- UN Refugee Agency. 'Asylum in the UK', retrievable at: https://www.unhcr.org/uk/asylum-in-the-uk.html
- Refugee Council. 'An analysis of Channel crossings & asylum outcomes November 2021', retrievable at: https://www.refugeecouncil.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Channel-crossings-and-asylum-outcomes-November-2021.pdf.