British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said that the new immigration bill, which prevents illegal immigrants from seeking asylum, is in line with international law and human rights, while rights groups and opposition parties criticized it and the United Nations described it as amounting to an asylum ban.

Sunak said the immigration bill would allow them to decide who enters Britain and who needs help.

For her part, British Home Secretary Swella Braverman said that the new immigration law will allow illegal immigrants to be deported to their country or a safe third country, and will allow illegal immigrants to be detained for 28 days without bail.

She added, presenting the text to parliament, "I am confident that the project complies with our international obligations," but she made it clear that she was unable to confirm "conclusively" whether it was in line with British human rights law, pointing to the start of discussions with the European Court of Human Rights.

The Home Secretary described the bill as "robust", adding, "In the face of a global migration crisis, the laws of yesterday simply are no longer appropriate," noting that the number of migrant boats arriving in Britain over the past two years has multiplied 5 times.

On Tuesday, the British government introduced an Anti-Illegal Immigration Bill to prevent migrants arriving across the Channel in small boats from seeking asylum in the UK.

And the British Prime Minister appeared determined to stop the increasing illegal crossings of the Channel, a phenomenon that continues despite the successive plans of successive conservative governments and is at the center of repeated tensions with Paris.

"This new law will send a clear message: if you come to this country illegally, you will be expelled quickly," Sunak told The Sun newspaper. "Those who come here on small boats (and cross the English Channel illegally) cannot claim asylum here." .

The conservative British government deals with an outdated immigration system, especially after the arrival of more than 45,000 immigrants via this very dangerous route last year, most of whom are Albanians, Afghans, Iranians, Iraqis and Syrians, and about 3,000 since the beginning of this year.

The text prohibits immigrants arriving illegally in the United Kingdom to seek asylum and subsequently reside on its soil or to apply for British citizenship.

It facilitates detention of migrants until they are deported to a third country deemed safe, and it "categorically" prevents them from appealing against deportations.

As for immigrants arriving legally, London will deal with them on the basis of an annual quota set by Parliament.

criticism

On the other hand, the French Press Agency quoted the United Nations as saying that the new British immigration bill amounts to a ban on asylum, while human rights associations and opposition parties described the legislation as illegal and impractical.

Refugee assistance bodies believe that the continuous tightening of immigration policy has not worked, considering that the immigrants will be discouraged only if the United Kingdom offers legal ways for asylum seekers to come to its lands, but this is not the case so far.

"If you are fleeing persecution or war, if you are fleeing Afghanistan or Syria and you fear for your life, how are you going to be able to claim asylum in the UK?" said Christina Marriott, director of the British Red Cross.

“If people should be expelled, where does the government intend to send them?” said Care4Calais, the government intends to return these people to Rwanda under a law that was passed but could not be enforced because of judicial procedures that prevented this, or to another country considered Safe.

For its part, the Labor opposition sees the bill as a tool to divert voters' attention ahead of local elections scheduled for May, in light of the Conservatives' declining popularity after 13 years in power.

"I don't think putting forward impossible proposals will do much good," opposition Labor Party leader Keir Starmer said Monday.