BOAT MIGRANTS TO GET LIFE BAN
EXCLUSIVE: Illegal Channel arrivals will be deported and prohibited from EVER returning under asylum crackdown
CHANNEL migrants will be hit with a lifetime ban on entering Britain again under proposed laws.
The tough new measures will impose indefinite re- entry bans on all migrants who arrive in this country by ‘irregular routes’, such as by small boat.
Ministers hope it will send a strong message and deter migrants from crossing the Channel illegally. Anyone caught coming to Britain by illegal routes would also face a lifetime ban on securing the right to settle permanently in the UK, or winning British citizenship.
The Illegal Migration Bill, to be unveiled tomorrow, is also expected to set out further measures restricting the right to claim asylum and making it easier for the Home Office to remove irregular migrants.
A government source told the Daily Mail: ‘ This new Bill, if passed by Parliament, will mean that if you come here illegally, not only will you be swiftly removed from the UK, but you will never be able to come back.
‘It is bad enough that illegal migrants currently abuse our asylum system to frustrate their
removal. But it is far worse that they can currently settle here permanently and apply to become a citizen. The ability to settle in this country and become a British citizen is not a human right, it is a privilege – which is why we will ban illegal migrants from ever coming back to the UK after we have removed them.’
Rishi Sunak, who has made ‘stopping the boats’ one of his five key pledges to voters, told The Mail on Sunday: ‘Illegal migration is not fair on British taxpayers, it is not fair on those who come here legally and it is not right that criminal gangs should be allowed to continue their immoral trade.
‘I am determined to deliver on my promise to stop the boats. So make no mistake, if you come here illegally, you will not be able to stay.’
The issue is likely to become a key battleground at the next election, expected at the end of next year. Labour has chosen not to make the small-boats issue one of its five ‘missions’ for the election.
Current rules state that illegal entrants can be handed a ‘re-entry ban’ of two or five years, depending on the circumstances – and foreign offenders can be barred for ten years and upwards. But the measures being announced tomorrow will significantly extend the restriction, making it impossible to enter Britain again, even as a visitor.
The moves are expected to have a particular impact on Channel migrants from safe countries – such as Albania – who will think twice about making an illegal crossing if it means never being allowed back.
New laws will also restrict Channel migrants from using human rights laws to avoid removal from Britain, it is understood. The Bill is likely to severely limit the way claims under Labour’s Human Rights Act can be used by asylum seekers who arrive by irregular routes. In addition, it will widen the Home Office’s ability to insist that any legal appeals must be lodged from abroad rather than from Britain, it is thought.
The Bill will be published ahead of a key summit between the Prime Minister and French president Emmanuel Macron on Friday. It is understood Mr Sunak will seek a ‘substantial’ increase in beach patrols to stop migrants from leaving
French shores. Nearly 46,000 migrants crossed the Channel by small boat last year, a huge rise on the 28,500 seen in 2021. Ministers have been warned that up to 80,000 migrants could make the dangerous journey this year.
Ministers are expected to face a battle over the new laws. Human rights campaigners will claim the inadmissibility measures and other aspects of the new Bill are a breach of refugee conventions.
The legislation is also expected to tighten modern slavery laws which are being exploited by migrants to delay removal. The PM has vowed to raise the threshold for claims so that ‘ objective evidence’ of exploitation is required, rather than mere ‘suspicion’.
Figures published last week showed modern slavery claims reached a record high last year, boosted by an 80 per cent surge in the number of Albanians claiming under the scheme.
As part of his action plan, the PM has also vowed to clear 92,000 cases from the asylum backlog – currently standing at 166,000 – by the end of this year.
Northern Ireland secretary Chris Heaton-Harris told Sky’s Sophy Ridge yesterday that the new Bill would be ‘very black and white’ and ban people who arrive in Britain via illegal routes from claiming asylum.
He also acknowledged that it meant opening up ‘more safe and legal routes’ for people to come here seeking asylum.
He said migration had been ‘really good’ for Britain, but the small- boats crisis had ‘upset that balance slightly’.
‘You will not be able to stay’