What is the Illegal Migration Bill?

Two weeks ago, members of the House of Lords discussed the Illegal Migration Bill. But what is the Bill about and what does it mean?

The Illegal Migration Bill was first introduced to Parliament in March of this year and continues from where the ‘Nationality and Borders Act’ left off in 2022. It seeks to prevent people who don’t have prior authorisation from seeking asylum in the UK, and deems anyone that crosses the Channel via small boats, or other unauthorised methods of transport as “inadmissible”. This means that their claim to live in the UK won’t be considered at all by the Home Office; instead, they will likely be detained and sent back to their country of origin.

Refugee Council has predicted that, if this Bill is enforced…

Over 190,000 people could be locked up or forced into destitution under the Government’s new crackdown on desperate people seeking safety and sanctuary.
As many as 45,000 children could be locked up in the UK, after having their asylum claims deemed "inadmissible".
And around £9 billion will be spent over three years on locking up refugees in detention centres and accommodating people who can’t be removed to other countries.

Our current Government is under the impression that these new measures will deter people from coming to the UK in an attempt to flee war, violence, torture and poverty. However, people will still continue to seek asylum, due to a significant lack of other options. If this Bill is passed, more people will be left without support, protection and safety in their greatest time of need.

What happens now?

The Bill will now be examined line by line at the Committee Stage, scheduled to begin tomorrow, Wednesday 24th May.

Take action against the Illegal Migration Bill and support the Amnesty campaign here.