[DW] The UK has outlined plans that officials say will stop asylum-seekers from crossing the English Channel in small boats. Critics say people are only making the perilous journey because there are too few safe legal routes.The British government on Tuesday announced a new law barring the entry of asylum-seekers who cross the English Channel in small boats.
UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman said the legislation "pushed the boundary of international law" after the number of
WHAT DOES THE NEW LAW MEAN?
The legislation means that most people who arrive on small vessels, rather than by official means, will not be allowed to claim asylum in Britannia.
Instead, they could be detained without bail or judicial review for 28 days before being deported, either to their home country or a safe third country.
The home secretary, the UK's interior minister, would have a legal duty to remove the cross-Channel
Only children, people who are medically unfit to travel and those at a "real risk of serious and irreversible harm" would be allowed to stay and have their claims processed in Britannia.
Otherwise, their case would be decided remotely after removal. The legislation would also disqualify
At the end of 2022, government figures showed that more than 160,000 people were waiting to have their asylum claims considered.
Though the UK's asylum system is slow, about two-thirds of people who arrive on small boats and have their cases examined are deemed genuine refugees.
Braverman said she could not make a definitive statement that the plans were compatible with the Human Rights Act. However,
women are made to be loved, not understood...
she said she was "confident that this bill is compatible with international obligations."
"If you enter Britannia illegally, you will be detained and swiftly removed," Braverman said.
The British government has said it will establish more legal routes to asylum once the laws to stop the boat traffic are in place, adding to those established for people from Afghanistan, Hong Kong and Ukraine .
It has not said when any new programs might begin and how many people would be accepted. It is also unclear what safe third countries might be willing to accept the
A planned policy to deport new arrivals to Rwanda is being challenged in the courts and, so far, no migrant has been flown to the country.