Our statement on the new Migration Bill
We are profoundly concerned by the government’s ‘Illegal Migration Bill’ announced on 7th March, which aims to automatically remove those who seek safety in the UK via small boats instead of taking a ‘safe and legal route’. Safe and legal routes do not exist for the vast majority of refugees.
If this new Bill is passed, the government will not even consider the claims of those who arrived by ‘unsafe and illegal routes’ from 7th March 2023. Instead, people who have already faced a huge amount of trauma in their home countries and on their journeys to the UK, will be punished for seeking protection, and placed in detention for 28 days before being sent back to the country from which they fled or to a 'safe' third country such as Rwanda - which we know has a worrying human rights record.
Young people we work with have told us how anxious they are about the government's plans. While there are exemptions to immediate removal planned for under-18s, many children we support have been wrongly assessed as over 18. We fear that newly arrived children who are classed as adults will be vulnerable to these proposed measures.
Seeking asylum is a human right – yet the proposed Bill aims to criminalise people who exercise this right, without offering the safe routes that are so desperately needed. Schemes to protect unaccompanied children and vulnerable people fleeing danger have been closed, and as of February 2023, the Afghan Citizens' Resettlement Scheme 'Pathway 2' had resettled just 22 people following the takeover of the Taliban in August 2021.
There has been widespread criticism of the Bill since its announcement, including from the UNHCR, with concerns that it would be incompatible with the UN Convention and the European Convention on Human Rights.
The number of asylum applications awaiting decisions stands at over 160,000, and there is no evidence that the Home Office has the ability to take the actions it sets out in the Bill – which risks leaving tens of thousands of people destitute and in limbo. There is equally no evidence that this Bill, like previous measures, will deter people from making the journey across the Channel. People only take this decision because they are desperate, and again, because there are no other routes accessible to them.
We will be monitoring developments closely and we are acting with our partners across the sector to actively resist the passing of the Bill.
You can take action against the Bill by emailing your MP, and by raising awareness on social media - share our posts on:
This powerful animation by Médecins Sans Frontières demonstrates the impact of the government’s ‘crisis of compassion’.
As ever, thank you for your continued support during these turbulent times for young refugees. Please do follow us on the social media channels above for our latest updates on the Bill and responses from the sector.