Nearly 10,000 small-boat migrants who reached Britain in the past four months were last night handed an ‘amnesty’ from the Government’s tough new immigration measures.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman had previously said any migrants who arrived since March by ‘irregular’ routes – such as on dinghies across the Channel – would be barred from making asylum claims.
But in a major concession to get the Government’s Illegal Migration Bill through Parliament, it will now apply only to migrants who reach the UK after the legislation gains Royal Assent.
Official figures show 9,622 migrants arrived on small boats between March 7 and Sunday.
The Home Secretary’s concession means they will now be able to claim asylum under existing rules – meaning many are likely to stay in Britain indefinitely.
Mrs Braverman said: ‘This Bill forms a crucial part of our action to stop the boats and ensure people do not risk their lives by making illegal and unnecessary journeys to the UK. Today’s amendments will help this crucial legislation pass through Parliament swiftly, whilst continuing to send a clear message that the exploitation of children and vulnerable people, used by criminals and ferried across the Channel, cannot continue.’
The Government’s Bill suffered 20 defeats in the House of Lords as peers sought to water down its measures. It now faces a tortuous series of votes in the Commons as the Government seeks to erase peers’ changes.
If it passes the ‘ping-pong’ stage between the two Houses today and tomorrow, the Bill could gain Royal Assent – and become law – within days.
In a further sop to the Lords, Mrs Braverman tabled further amendments which will increase safeguards around the detention of unaccompanied child migrants. If a child is detained for removal from Britain, an immigration judge will be able to grant bail after eight days instead of the previous proposal of 28 days. In a further concession, the Home Office will be able to detain pregnant women for a maximum of 72 hours, extendable to seven days on a ministers’ authorisation.
Migrants who arrived since March 7 will still face bans on re-entering the UK and will be excluded from gaining settlement or citizenship in this country.
The Home Office confirmed that 269 migrants reached Britain across the Channel on Sunday, bringing the total so far this year to 12,772, compared with 13,286 at the same point last year.
It came as former home secretary and chancellor Ken Clarke said the Rwanda deal – which will see migrants sent to claim asylum in the east African nation rather than here – is the only way to stop small-boat crossings. ‘We can no longer simply do nothing. We must give the Rwanda scheme a chance to work,’ Lord Clarke, who is on the liberal wing of the Tory party, wrote in The Daily Telegraph.
A man wanted in connection with a tragedy which saw 27 migrants drown in the Channel in 2021 has been extradited to France. Harem Ahmed Abwbaker, 32, was arrested by the National Crime Agency at a hotel in Cheltenham in November.
Read More: ‘Amnesty’ is handed to 10,000 small boats migrants
