July 18 () –
The UK Parliament has approved the controversial immigration law promoted by the Government to speed up deportations of those who try to enter the country illegally.
After the House of Commons has rejected a series of amendments that sought to reduce the harshness of the new legislation, the Conservatives have finally achieved the approval of the House of Lords, so the measure now passes less than King Carlos III for its ratification.
The regulation, a cornerstone of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s policy, seeks to stop the arrival of migrants by boat through the English Channel and has met with much criticism from lawyers and human rights groups. However, it is especially popular among the most conservative ‘Tories’, according to information from the BBC television network.
This legislation will allow the United Kingdom to carry out expulsions before resolving an asylum request or deporting migrants to third countries, such as Rwanda. Although the lords have tried to carry out some measures to protect the LGTBI community and establish safe routes for asylum seekers, these measures have not finally been introduced in the text.
The bill was sent back to the House of Lords late on Monday after these amendments were vetoed by members of the House of Commons. Last month, an appeals court declared the government’s plan to deport migrants to Rwanda illegal on the grounds that to carry out this initiative it would first be necessary to change the British asylum system.
In addition, the British Justice considers that the African country is not a “safe third country” to which to transfer these migrants, something that Sunak has continued to defend on several occasions. Therefore, he plans to take the case to the Supreme Court.
A record 45,756 migrants arrived in the UK via the canal last year, up more than 60 per cent on the previous year. Since May, about 42 percent of those arriving by small boat have come from Albania, which Britain considers a safe country, according to Home Office figures.
