UK government defends law barring 'illegal' English channel migrants

The UK government said on Tuesday it was ready for legal challenges against a new law intended to stop migrants from reaching the country in small boats across the English Channel.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman claimed the government had “pushed the boundaries of international law” with its bill barring asylum claims by anyone who reaches the UK by unauthorised means. 

But the UN refugee agency is ‘profoundly concerned’ by UK’s illegal migration bill, saying it amounts to an asylum ban.

The controversial plans could mean the government detained asylum seekers entering the country across illegal routes and then deporting them “to their home country or a safe third country.” 

Critics have blasted the plans as unworkable, inhumane, and not legally feasible, pointing out they could only succeed if the UK withdrew from several international treaties. 

They also claimed there is a lack of safe and legal routes, which forces asylum seekers to cross the channel in this way. 

“If you enter Britain illegally, you will be detained and swiftly removed," Braverman told lawmakers in the House of Commons on Tuesday, as she introduced the government's "Illegal Migration Bill."

The UK government says the new law, once approved by Parliament, will deter migrants and hamstring smuggling gangs who send desperate people on hazardous journeys across the busy waterway. 

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the law will “take back control” of UK borders — a central pledge of the successful but divisive campaign to take Britain out of the European Union.

Braverman said those arriving by boat would be detained for up to 28 days and then deported, with exceptions only for children. 

Those medically unfit to fly and people at risk of serious harm will have