What is the Illegal Migration Bill?

The Illegal Migration Bill, if successfully passed by Parliament, will change the law to make it more difficult for those arriving illegally to stay in the UK, and will provide the Home Office with significantly increased powers of detention and removal.

The Illegal Migration Bill was first introduced into Parliament by Home Secretary Suella Braverman in March 2023. The Bill is the latest proposed change of law prompted by the increase in small boat crossings.

Key provisions under the original drafting of the Bill included:

• Making the asylum claim of anyone arriving in the UK without permission, or who has travelled via a safe country, permanently inadmissible, meaning that their claim would never be assessed regardless of merit.
• Preventing immigration detainees from making a bail application in the first 28 days of detention, and removing time limits on how long a detainee can be held.
• Removing the right of appeal for age assessments.

Even at its inception, the Home Secretary made a rare declaration that she could not say if the Bill would be compatible with the UK’s obligations under the European Convention of Human Rights. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has expressed its ‘profound concern’ over the Bill.

The Bill has been widely criticised by MPs and peers in the House of Lords. The Joint Committee on Human Rights has stated that it would prevent the majority of refugees from being able to access the asylum system. It is also predicted to roll back protections that are currently in place for victims of modern slavery and trafficking.

Charities and other non-governmental organisations have similarly slammed the Bill. The Refugee Council estimates that the cost of accommodation for those detained under the new powers would be between £8.7bn and £9.6bn in the first three years (the Government did not produce its own cost forecast). In addition, the UK’s detention facilities do not currently have the capacity to house the number of people anticipated as falling within the legislation’s application.

The UK’s asylum system has come under significant strain over the last few years, as a huge backlog of undecided claims built up. The backlog is thought to be the result of years of cuts to the Home Office’s budget; the UK’s withdrawal from the EU, and key agreements relating to asylum claim processing amongst member states, as well as reduced capacity to consider claims during the pandemic.

Introduced last year, the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 established a two-tier asylum system, allowing the Home Office to assign differentiated status to asylum seekers who arrived illegally in the UK. Any refugee who was granted asylum in the UK and received this designation was entitled to fewer rights and protections compared to those arriving in the UK legally and who claimed without delay. From July of this year, the two-tier system was discontinued.

The House of Lords has proposed a number of amendments to the Illegal Migration Bill, including leaving unaccompanied children and victims of trafficking out of its scope, and maintaining time limits on the detention of children and pregnant women. However, MPs voted last night to reject all of these amendments.

The Government have since made concessions in respect of time limits on the detention of pregnant women, and have reduced the number of days from 28 days to 8 days, before an unaccompanied minor can be granted bail.

The Illegal Migration Bill has now been returned to the House of Lords.

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