The Illegal Migration Bill states that if you enter the United Kingdom illegally you will be: detained immediately, removed to safe country within weeks, banned from claiming asylum in the UK, denied access to the modern slavery system and stopped from making late and spurious claims to frustrate removals.
Since 2015 the UK has offered sanctuary to 480,000 people from Syria, Afghanistan ,Hong Kong and most recently Ukraine. The Bill is designed to deal with those coming illegally to the UK at the detriment of those who come via safe, legal routes.
In fact, the UK is one of the largest recipients of UNHCR referred refugees globally, second only to Sweden in Europe since 2015.
Last year over 13,000 people - almost one third of those making the crossing - came from Albania, exploiting the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and crossing as economic migrants. In 2021, 73% of people who were detained for removal put forward a modern slavery claim, compared to 3% of the people who were not detained. Guidance now requires claimants to provide evidence of such claims.
I would like to hear your views on the Bill and immigration via the survey below...
