The Illegal Migration Bill will define the next election

The government’s Illegal Migration Bill is finally here. Speaking in the House of Commons on Tuesday lunchtime, the Home Secretary unveiled plans to swiftly remove nearly everyone who arrives in the UK via small boats. Suella Braverman said the legislation was necessary as the current asylum laws are not ‘fit for purpose’ adding that public patience ‘has run out’ among the ‘law-abiding patriotic majority’.

So, what powers does the new bill grant the government? First, it includes a legal duty on the home secretary to detain and remove those who arrive illegally. The government, too, will have the power to detain asylum seekers for up to 28 days ‘without bail or judicial review until they can be removed’ making it harder for legal challenges. As for appeals and claims to stay, the only individuals the government would not be able to deport are unaccompanied children, those who are too medically unfit to fly and those who can demonstrate ‘a real risk of serious and irreversible harm’ in the country they would be deported to.