On Tuesday, the UK government softened key aspects of its contentious immigration law in order to get it past Parliament.
Once passed, the Illegal Migration Bill will require officials to hold and deport people who cross the English Channel in tiny boats to Britain.
The Conservative government has promised to “stop the boats,” referring to the overloaded dinghies and other small craft that travel from northern France carrying migrants hoping to reside in the United Kingdom. In 2022, over 45,000 people crossed the Channel in this manner, with some dying in the process.
The law was adopted by the House of Commons, where the ruling Conservatives have a majority, but it was met with fierce opposition in the unelected House of Lords, which has the power to amend but not reject legislation.
The Lords returned the bill to the House of Commons with 20 modifications that removed some of the most severe provisions.
The government made some concessions to opponents, removing a provision that would have applied deportation to immigrants who arrived before the bill became law. The administration also lowered the period of confinement for unaccompanied youngsters in immigration detention from 28 to eight days.
However, governments want the Commons to remove the majority of the Lords’ amendments before sending the measure to the upper house, a procedure known as “parliamentary ping-pong.”
The Lords, according to Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick, should “think again” and respect the will of elected parliamentarians.
“It’s vital that this bill reaches the statute book quickly, and in a form that will stop the boats,” he said.
The proposal forbids anyone who enters the UK illegally from claiming asylum, forcing officials to detain and ultimately deport refugees and migrants “to their home country or a safe third country,” such as Rwanda. They would be barred from ever returning to the UK if they were deported.
The British government claims that the rule will dissuade people from making dangerous crossings over the Channel and will disrupt the financial model of the criminal organizations driving the voyages.
Critics argue that it violates the UK’s international human rights duties by denying asylum to the vast majority of refugees and victims of modern slavery.
Even if it becomes law, the deportation plan will face significant challenges. The UK and Rwanda reached an agreement last year allowing asylum seekers to be transported permanently from the UK to the East African country, but the Court of Appeal ruled last month that it was invalid. The government intends to file an appeal with the UK Supreme Court.
Stephen Kinnock, the opposition Labour Party’s immigration spokesman, called the bill “a tawdry and deeply counterproductive attempt to show the government is doing something, anything” about a system that is overburdened by a backlog of thousands of asylum-seekers who have been waiting months or years to have their cases heard.
“This bill will only make a terrible situation worse,” he said.
