The Illegal Migration Act

received the Royal Assent in 2023. A controversial Act, it was described as against international law by the

UNHCR

who described it as follows

“GENEVA – The Illegal Migration Bill, which has now been passed by Parliament in the United Kingdom, is at variance with the country’s obligations under international human rights and refugee law and will have profound consequences for people in need of international protection, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk and UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi warned today.

The Bill extinguishes access to asylum in the UK for anyone who arrives irregularly, having passed through a country – however briefly – where they did not face persecution. It bars them from presenting refugee protection or other human rights claims, no matter how compelling their circumstances. In addition, it requires their removal to another country, with no guarantee that they will necessarily be able to access protection there. It creates sweeping new detention powers, with limited judicial oversight.”

This part of the Act was  SUSPENDED by the new Labour government July 2024

Refugee Action

describe it as follows 

“In March 2023, Home Secretary Suella Braverman announced the Refugee Ban Bill which seeks to impose a complete ban on those desperate people arriving in the UK to claim asylum. This law will be the biggest attack on the refugee protection system that we have ever seen and will cause more misery and create more chaos on an asylum system that is already on the brink of collapse. It is not compassionate nor effective potentially leaving those fleeing persecution and war in limbo for years. 

 These laws mean that only refugees arriving through extraordinarily restricted ‘official’ routes, which have been reduced dramatically, will be allowed to seek protection. All others will be banned from claiming asylum, then detained or deported under this government’s anti-refugee laws. They will not be allowed to challenge their removal or have access to bail from detention, or support if they are victims of modern slavery. People seeking safety will instead be locked up indefinitely, left in limbo and under the perpetual threat of deportation.”