More boat refugees – British government wants to tighten asylum law – News

Anyone who comes to Great Britain illegally is said to have long-term disadvantages – including imprisonment.

It’s all about: During the current year, more than 8,400 refugees and migrants, mostly in rubber dinghies, crossed the English Channel from France to Great Britain. This is more than last year. According to the British Home Office, 482 people attempted to travel to Great Britain this way on Wednesday alone – a new daily record. In response to the increase in illegal immigration, the administration of Prime Minister Boris Johnson wants to tighten the asylum law.

This is what the law provides: Home Minister Priti Patel has said that asylum seekers coming to Great Britain in illegal ways should have less rights in the long run. According to London-based journalist Peter Stooper, they have no right to up to four years in prison, less social benefits or family reunification. The suggestion that asylum seekers in camps abroad have to wait for the end is also being discussed – just as Denmark is planning. “It must be very difficult to get asylum in Great Britain,” the journalist summarizes.

It is mainly about code government policy. Refugees cannot talk about the crisis.

So tightening: The British government has been trying to control immigration for years. “Now the interior minister is targeting the asylum system,” Stubber said. After all, it is about sending a signal to voters. “You want to prove a certain seriousness.” It is related to the 2016 Brexit referendum. After all, high immigration – at the time mainly from other European countries – was the main argument of the supporters of the success of the EU exit. “They want to show that they are now taking the Brexit vote seriously and doing everything they can to control the borders,” Stuber says.

Experts say: In the view of migration and refugee experts, the tightening of planned legislation is unlikely to have the desired preventive effect. For that reason alone, fewer people will come to the UK. “But the law will result in more bureaucracy and enormously higher costs,” Stuber firmly believes. This is because imprisonment by the state is more expensive than supporting them for the benefit of the people.

NGOs and the population operate as follows: These programs provoke anger in human rights and refugee campaigns. They described the proposals as “cold-hearted” and “brutal.” The UN High Commissioner for Refugees was also disappointed. The right to asylum is universal, it does not matter how you enter the country as a refugee, so the argument goes. In addition, studies show that most British people want to provide protection for oppressed people. “There’s a lot of opposition to the legislation,” Stuber says.

The asylum problem is huge: “The government’s discourse is a little too true,” the journalist says. Fewer refugees and immigrants come to Great Britain than from other European countries. The number of boat refugees crossing the English Channel increased last year. But overall, the number of asylum applications in Great Britain is down by almost a fifth. “So it’s mainly about code government policy. There can be no question about the refugee crisis,” Stuper said.