Channel crossings: London toughens its law against illegal immigration
Audio 01:16
A photograph released by the British Parliament shows British Home Secretary Suella Braverman during a statement on the Illegal Immigration Bill at the House of Commons in London on March 7, 2023. AFP - ANDY BAILEY
Text by: RFI Follow
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Nearly 200 people arrived in the United Kingdom this Monday, March 6, after crossing the English Channel aboard makeshift boats... These crossings, the British government promises to put an end to them: the Minister of the Interior has precisely presented this Tuesday a new law in this direction.
Suella Braverman promises deportation to anyone arriving illegally by sea.
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With our correspondent in London
,
Emeline Vin
In five years, the number of migrants crossing the Channel has increased sixty-fold, to 45,000 last year.
Interior Minister Suella Braverman promises to put an end to these arrivals:
“
They won't stop coming until the whole world knows that if anyone arrives here illegally, they will be deported – either to their country of origin or to a safe third country.
The text allows detention, without bail or judicial review, for 28 days, until deportation.
It obliges the Ministry of the Interior to expel irregular arrivals and drastically restricts the possibilities of appeal which make it possible to suspend expulsions.
»
The Home Secretary @SuellaBraverman has made it clear: Adults who enter the UK illegally will be deported, either to their home country, or a safe third country.
It's essential that we stop small boat crossings, which put lives at risk.
@ukhomeoffice pic.twitter.com/eXcacoolVj
— Caroline Dinenage (@cj_dinenage) March 7, 2023
The minister “
cannot guarantee
” that the text will comply with international asylum laws.
If the opposition admits that it is necessary to act, it denounces a useless project.
Diane Abbott, Labor MP: “
You talk about detention, repatriation.
But where are you going to detain all these people?
We don't have the skills!
Your tone, your actions are deplorable and cannot work.
»
I spoke against the Tories' so-called "Illegal Immigration Bill" in Parliament today.
As the child of migrants, I will never vote for legislation that would have seen my parents being detained or deported to Rwanda.
We need safe routes, not this deplorable & unworkable plan.
pic.twitter.com/PRvlYgEECc
— Diane Abbott MP (@HackneyAbbott) March 7, 2023
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak must take advantage of a meeting with Emmanuel Macron on Friday to ask for more support from France.
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See also United Kingdom: record net immigration of half a million people in one year
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