This week, less than a year after the passing of the draconian Nationality and Borders Act, the government has announced yet more controversial legislation designed to overhaul the UK’s asylum system. 

If you’re outraged about the proposals, you’re certainly not alone. But it can be difficult to know what to do at this point. So let’s break down the issues and discuss how to take a stand. 

This legislation, the so-called Illegal Migration Bill, has shocked people – not just because of its unworkable policy proposals but due to the home secretary’s own admission that she’s unsure whether the bill is actually legal or not.

In the very opening pages of the bill, Suella Braverman, the home secretary, declares she is unable to say whether her proposals are compatible with Britain’s human rights obligations, specifically the European Convention on Human Rights. She goes on, however, to say that despite this, “the government nevertheless wishes the House to proceed with the bill”.

So essentially, even though the bill is likely to go against human rights law, Braverman still wants parliament to vote on it. 

Even if you were to ignore this problem, there’s a bigger one looming. If this bill becomes law, refugees will be left in limbo – guaranteed to be detained and left at high risk of exploitation and destitution – all on British soil.

As Gary Lineker controversially said, it really does bring to mind 1930s Germany.

While the government claims it is providing for refugees via safe pathways, the reality is that it’s near impossible to claim asylum in the UK from overseas. There is a logical correlation between the fact that avenues for applying for asylum outside the UK have mostly been closed by the Conservative government, and that to seek asylum in the UK, you must first be on British soil. 

A rational assessment of the situation in Calais would understand that by so drastically limiting visa routes, desperate people in search of safety are forced to rely on people smugglers, and this puts them at an increased risk of being trafficked. Even Theresa May, the former prime minister and architect of the hostile environment, specifically cautioned on the floor of the House that “anybody who thinks that this bill will deal with illegal migration once and for all is wrong”.

Many of those stuck at our border with France have fled from war-torn countries in the middle of the night. Many are exploited by people smugglers or traffickers on their journey and end up at the UK border having little choice in their direction. These journeys are not as simple as the government would have us believe.

On the contrary, what this bad bill means in practice, however, is that any refugee who does reach the safety of British shores, rather than being supported, will not have the right to have their asylum claim heard and will instead immediately be declared “inadmissible”. This includes women who are trafficked as sex slaves, effectively eradicating our world-leading sex and trafficking act, the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

The government then intends to deport those seeking asylum in the UK – possibly to the very countries from which they have fled or to alternate countries, such as Rwanda. This approach is not only immoral and dangerous, but it is also unworkable. Without the existing international deals to return people to other countries, this bill is effectively a scam, designed to create some kind of culture war, hating on refugees and asylum seekers as a smoke screen to avoid scrutiny of the government’s own appalling 13 years of mismanagement.

I now fear that if this bill becomes law, the government will have abandoned people to the whim of people smugglers, who will capitalise on this fear and increase their prices for deadly journeys. The Foreign Affairs Select Committee itself concluded in 2019 that “policies which focus exclusively on closing borders drive migrants to take more dangerous routes and push them into the hands of criminal groups”. Those who fear coming forward to the authorities for fear of being placed in indefinite detention are at high risk of being exploited on British soil and left destitute with nowhere to turn. This bill, were it to become law, will only bring more insecurity and chaos into an already broken asylum system.

It is shocking that some companies tasked with supporting and housing asylum seekers have reportedly trebled their profits. And with this new policy, refugees will instead be placed in prison-like conditions, in camps or unsuitable accommodation that will spring up all over the UK. So not only will there be more dodgy contracts given out but they will be making money on the backs of vulnerable children, pregnant women and many more who are fleeing from countries such as Afghanistan and Ukraine. In addition, protections against modern slavery will be ripped up and access to legal advice will be severely compromised.

The only way to break the business model of people smuggling and trafficking is to take the power back from those with criminal intent and provide safe routes of access to the UK.

Anyone who enters the UK to seek asylum should be allowed to have their claims heard fairly and quickly and should be supported by the government to rebuild their lives. We must remember that some of those fleeing to the UK helped our soldiers in Afghanistan, and instead, these are the people we have abandoned and labelled “inadmissible”.

What is needed is a multi-disciplinary strategy that provides safe routes, safe housing and strong communities, allowing people to work so they can give back and build a life. We should be opening up more family reunification routes and introducing new documents, such as a humanitarian visa, so that people can travel here safely. The UK also needs to commit to working with international partners to ensure we are taking equal responsibility for those in need globally. And finally, the government should immediately lift the ban on work for asylum seekers so that people with accepted asylum claims can get back on their feet, and they must introduce comprehensive restoration of funding for local authorities.

The outpouring of support for Ukrainians, people from Afghanistan and even Gary Lineker shows that a huge portion of the British public favours a more compassionate system. The government is not only out of touch with what people in our communities need, but it is also practising cruelty against those who need help the most. 

Now is the time to write to your MP, to lobby the government to change the debate and shift legislators from their anti-immigration stance. What is needed now, more than ever, is for the British public to stand up against the government and say that we are all in this together; we are a compassionate, caring country. And we will play our part in helping those seeking refuge who are fleeing war, famine and other atrocities. 

Images: Getty