UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is committed to ending illegal immigration and is set to introduce new legislation to ban illegal immigrants from claiming asylum. Over 45,000 illegal immigrants have already crossed the English Channel in small boats to reach the UK in 2022, while 2,950 have already made the crossing this year. Sunak has made “stopping the boats” a priority and has pledged to deliver on his promise. Under the new legislation, asylum claims will be inadmissible from those who travel to the UK illegally on small boats. The Home Office will have a duty to remove “as soon as reasonably practicable” anyone who arrives on a small boat, either to Rwanda or another “safe third country.” The legislation will also prevent arrivals from claiming asylum while in the UK and ban them from returning once removed. Opposition parties have criticized the legislation as a publicity stunt, while the Liberal Democrats have called it “immoral, ineffective and incredibly costly for taxpayers.” The government’s ground-breaking migration partnership with Rwanda has faced legal challenges, but the High Court recently ruled in favor of the plan, calling it “lawful.”
Sunak promises to eliminate illegal immigration through small boats permanently.
