BASW General Election Blog: Repeal the Illegal Migration Act

BASW has set out 40 priorities for the next UK Government that we’ll be highlighted to all political parties ahead of the General Election. Our blog series takes a deeper look at each of the policy asks in turn.
A barge moored in Portland Port, Dorset, set to house 500 men seeking asylum

Repeal the Illegal Migration Act

The Illegal Migration Act 2023 changed the law so that those who arrived in the UK through what the Government determines an ‘illegal route’, will be unable to stay in the UK and will be detained before deportation. The Act serves no positive purpose, is unworkable, and risks breaching domestic and international law.

The Act makes provision for:

  • the removal of asylum-seekers from the UK who have arrived in the country through what the UK Government determines to be an illegal route.
  • detention for immigration purposes.
  • changes to processes for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC).
  • victims of slavery or human trafficking.
  • leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom.
  • inadmissibility of protections and human rights claims related to immigration.

BASW has opposed the Act since it was introduced and we believe that any person arriving in the UK seeking asylum, no matter the route they took to get here, should have a fair hearing on UK soil. Under international law, there is no ‘illegal route’ to enter the UK. There are unsafe routes, and the Government could make it easier to claim asylum in the UK from another country rather than force people to risk their lives to travel here.

This piece of legislation was introduced in the context of an increasingly hostile environment in which asylum-seekers have been targeted by politicians and the media as a threat to the UK and portrayed as an issue that has to be resolved. Successive Home Secretaries have made a number of inflammatory remarks about asylum seekers, including the allegation that there is “a serious problem of grown men masquerading as children”, and blaming asylum seekers for the Government’s failure to respond to overcrowding at centres.  We stand against this rhetoric and behaviour, which is contrary to what we expect from senior political figures in the United Kingdom.

This legislation creates a separation between UASC and children born in the UK which contravenes basic principles of human rights and contradicts existing domestic legislation such as the Children Act 1989. We also fear that knowing they will be deported at 18, UASC will be more likely to go missing from care and be at risk of abuse by traffickers. The Act also makes provision for UASC who refuse to undergo a biological method (such as an x-ray or MRI) to determine age to be considered as over 18, and then deported.

The Act violates the rights of refugees and children which are outlined in law such as the Children Act 1989 and the Refugee Convention. Additionally, there are major practical problems of implementation which will further over-stretch public services and lead to ongoing challenges in the courts.

There is no positive aspect of the Illegal Migration Act, and we believe it should be repealed.