UK Illegal Migration Law passes final hurdle in  parliament

United Kingdom Illegal Migration Bill is set to become law after clearing its final parliamentary hurdle. 

The government won a series of votes on the legislation in the House of Lords on Monday night, ending a weeks-long effort by some members of the upper chamber to amend Sunak’s controversial legislation, which places a legal duty on the government to detain and remove people who come to the UK by crossing the English Channel in small boats.

In an unexpected win for the premier, amendments that sought to offer safeguards for victims of modern slavery and limit child detention were rejected after large numbers of Conservative peers sat late in the chamber to vote against them. It means the bill is likely to receive Royal Assent — the final stage that sees it formally become law — this week.

While passage of the law is a boost for Sunak, and technically delivers on a pledge he made earlier this year to “pass new laws to stop small boats, making sure that if you come to this country illegally, you are detained and swiftly removed,” it’s unclear how the legislation will immediately prevent further small boats crossings.

Ministers have said it is aimed at providing a deterrent to future asylum seekers, in combination with the government’s attempts to deport migrants to Rwanda. Yet no flights to that country have taken place due to ongoing legal problems, with the government currently challenging a court ruling that program is unlawful.

Sunak’s spokesman, Max Blain, told reporters on Tuesday that while some elements of the bill can be put into action without the Rwanda policy, ultimately the government needs both tools to tackle boat crossings.

“We won’t see it fully operationalized while there is this legal challenge still in the courts,” Blain said. “Having the Rwandan migration partnership and the act together will provide that deterrent effect,” he added, stressing: “it’s important we have those two aspects together.”

While the wording of Sunak’s promise on immigration in January was to pass the law, he and his ministers have boiled the promise down to “stop the boats” — something that clearly hasn’t happened. Even as the legislation has worked its way through the legislative process, thousands of migrants have continued to make the crossing.

More than 13,000 people have made the crossing so far this year, including more than 3,000 in June, with little sign of the government stopping the flow. It is equally unclear how the government plans to tackle the backlog of asylum cases, which has soared to more than 130,000.

Separately, the government is carrying out final inspections on the Bibby Stockholm, a barge it’s brought to Portland in southern England to house those who have entered the country by small boat. Blain said the first migrants are due to be moved to the vessel “later this month.”