This petition was submitted during the 2019-2024 parliament
Petition Take action to stop illegal immigration and rapidly remove illegal immigrants
Illegal immigrants are entering the UK in many different ways, including small boats from France which are not stopped by either French or British forces.
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The Government should take action to reduce illegal immigration into the UK and enable the rapid removal of immigrants found to be here illegally.
This petition is closed This petition ran for 6 months
Parliament debated this topic
This topic was debated on 19 October 2020
Government responded
This response was given on 8 October 2020
The Government is committed to tackling illegal migration. We are working to strengthen borders, tackle organised immigration crime, overcome rigid legal barriers to removal, and overhaul the system.
Read the response in full
We have a duty to prevent loss of life and to protect our borders. That’s why we are doing everything we can to stop these dangerous and illegal Channel crossings and all forms of clandestine entry and bring to justice the criminals behind them.
The UK has long been a sanctuary for those in need of international protection, but the UK Government is clear that those in genuine need should seek that protection in the first safe country that they reach. France is such a safe country, with a fully functioning asylum system – over 100,000 asylum claims lodged last year; EU Member States are manifestly safe countries. People needing to seek protection who are in France can and should claim asylum there. They have no reason to travel in a highly dangerous way to the UK instead. In setting to sea in unseaworthy craft across one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, migrants risk their lives and the lives of those who rescue them. This is unacceptable behaviour which will not be tolerated.
As such, the dissuasion, disruption and deterrence of migrants using these routes is a cross-departmental priority. The Home Secretary and her officials, including recently-appointed Clandestine Channel Threat Commander Dan O’Mahoney, are working with their counterparts across Government and law enforcement, and with European partners, to tackle those who do this and to punish the criminals who profit from them.
We are working closely with the French to prevent these crossings. That engagement has seen us invest significantly in security and surveillance, including the use of cutting-edge technology and patrols of the beaches by French officers, some of whom we fund, and the foundation of a Joint Intelligence Cell. This year alone, over 3,000 crossing attempts were stopped by the French authorities – nearly 50% of all attempts. But more needs to be done.
Border Force has a Cutter and two Coastal Patrol Vessels patrolling the Channel, monitoring and securely escorting any small boats evading French partners. Safety of life at sea is paramount, so our focus is on preventing crossings and rapidly returning those who do get across. We intend to use legislation and reach further agreement with the French Government to develop our tactical response. Our goal is to render use of small boats unviable by linking this with an inability to remain in the UK.
The UK has obligations under the Refugee Convention and, until the end of this year, the Common European Asylum System. Where the UK is responsible for determining a claim, it must do so fully even if these appear unsubstantiated, suspect, or made in order to overturn otherwise sound immigration decisions. Accounts which may appear dubious or self-serving cannot be simply dismissed without due process under domestic and international law.
There are a number of legal routes for migration. Denying the use of dangerous routes from safe third countries does not deny people the right to seek asylum in those countries. We are clear that if a migrant has chosen to evade immigration control or enter the UK illegally, then they can have no expectation of remaining in the absence of a genuine claim for UK protection, but the current operation of the Human Rights Act 1998, EU’s Common European Asylum System, and in particular the Dublin Regulation, make that a cumbersome and lengthy process. At the end of the transition Period in January 2021, however, we will be free of the Dublin Regulation and the Common Asylum System and will be able to negotiate new returns agreements on our own terms. Asylum seekers entering from safe countries will remain a priority for removal, along with foreign national prisoners and those whose removal is justified on grounds of public policy, public security or public health. We also continue to seek to prosecute under UK law those that facilitate illegal entry, and to turn that heinous trade from an easy profit into a life-changing personal risk for those who engage in it. We are working with the National Crime Agency to go after those who profit from such misery.
We are currently working to return nearly 1,000 cases where migrants had previously claimed asylum in European countries and, under regulations, legally should be returned there. Over 250 arrivals are ready to be returned to Italy, Germany and France, and we have made requests under the Dublin Regulation to return over 400 more people who have arrived this year alone. We are committed to returning as many as possible of the migrants who have chosen to use these dangerous methods.
The Home Secretary has signalled her intention to fix our broken asylum system, where the most vulnerable are stuck in a bureaucracy and the least deserving are rewarded through meritless cynically-timed legal interventions, making it fairer for those genuinely in need of a safe haven and firmer against those who seek to abuse it. We will bring forward legislation next year, in the biggest overhaul of our asylum system in decades.
Home Office
Related activity
MPs debate channel crossings in the House of Commons
MPs discussed channel crossings in small boats on Wednesday 2 September, in response to an Urgent Question submitted by Nick Thomas-Symonds (Labour). Home Office minister Chris Philp responded for the Government.
Read the transcript in Hansard: https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2020-09-02/debates/FFE64F53-0699-465A-92C0-205074A914BD/ChannelCrossingsInSmallBoats
Watch the debate: https://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/9197ef05-b798-452a-a505-8e9852454da7?in=12:42:57
Opportunities to schedule petitions debates in Parliament have been extremely limited since Westminster Hall sittings were suspended in March due to social distancing rules. The Committee will consider scheduling debates on outstanding petitions with over 100,000 signatures once Westminster Hall sittings resume.
MPs investigate channel crossings, migration and asylum-seeking routes through the EU
A group of MPs called the Home Affairs Committee, is investigating channel crossings, migration and asylum-seeking routes through the EU.
On 3 September, they questioned senior officials from the Home Office and National Crime Agency.
Watch the session: https://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/d7c84b79-fbe0-4f1d-b262-e5091f60c160
Read a transcript of the session: https://committees.parliament.uk/oralevidence/793/default/
On 9 September, they questioned Local Authority and Children's Services representatives.
Watch the session: https://parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/54408dfc-a964-4f17-aed2-a47170e50a93
Read a transcript of the session: https://committees.parliament.uk/oralevidence/830/html/
On 16 September, they questioned representatives of refugee charities.
Watch the session: https://www.parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/9681dc26-7fc7-4b56-a47d-41ea3c199c21
(A transcript will be added to the Home Affairs Committee's website in the next week or so).
Find out more about the Home Affairs Committee's inquiry into channel crossings, migration and asylum-seeking routes through the EU: https://committees.parliament.uk/work/496/channel-crossings-migration-and-asylumseeking-routes-through-the-eu/
Follow the Committee for updates on Twitter:
@CommonsHomeAffs
###What is the Home Affairs Committee?
The Home Affairs Committee looks at and questions how the Government Department for Home Affairs:
· is run
· spends money
· decides on its policies
It's a cross-party committee and is independent of the Government.
This is a ‘select committee’. Find out how Select Committees work:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_2RDuDs44c
###When will this petition be debated?
Petition debates were cancelled in March because of Covid-19 and social distancing measures. The Petitions Committee (the group of MPs that looks at e-petitions submitted on petition.parliament.uk) are waiting to be able to schedule this petition for a debate as soon as these debates are resumed in the Autumn. We will let you know as soon as this petition is scheduled for a debate in Parliament.
Petitions Committee schedules debate on immigration
The Petitions Committee has scheduled a debate on this petition for Monday 19 October.
Committee member Tom Hunt MP will open the debate, and MPs from all parties can take part. A Home Office Minister will respond on behalf of the Government.
Watch the debate live from 6pm, Mon 19 Oct: https://youtu.be/tlQNZQ86tpM
Read the transcript: https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2020-10-19 (available shortly after the debate concludes)
What are petitions debates?
Petitions debates are ‘general’ debates which allow MPs from all parties to discuss the important issues raised by one or more petitions, and put their concerns to Government Ministers.
Stay up-to-date
Follow the Committee on Twitter for real-time updates on its work: https://www.twitter.com/hocpetitions
Join in the discussion using hashtag #ImmigrationPetitionsDebate
Get caught up with some background reading: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cdp-2020-0112/
Government announces plans for new immigration laws
As part of the Queen's Speech on Tuesday 11th May, the Government announced that it plans to introduce new laws to strengthen the UK’s borders and deter illegal entry into the UK.
The new laws would implement the Government's proposals set out in its New Plan for Immigration, which was published in March. The Government's consultation on those proposals ended earlier this month.
These proposals focus on protecting and supporting those in genuine need of asylum, deterring criminal trafficking networks and illegal entry into the UK, and more easily removing people without the right to live in the UK.
The Government intends to introduce a new Bill into Parliament to make these changes, which will be published in due course.
Read more about the Government's plans here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/new-plan-for-immigration
Read the Queen's Speech background briefing notes for more information on the Government's proposed Bill:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/queens-speech-2021-background-briefing-notes
What is the Queen's Speech?
The Queen's Speech is the speech that the Queen reads out in the House of Lords Chamber on the occasion of the State Opening of Parliament.
It's written by the Government and sets out the programme of Bills - new laws, and changes to existing laws - that the Government intends to put forward in this new Parliamentary session. A session of Parliament usually lasts around one year.
Once the Government puts forward a Bill in Parliament, Parliament then debates the Government's proposal and decides whether to adopt the changes to the law set out in the Bill.
MPs to debate proposals for new laws relating to nationality and borders
On 19 and 20 July, MPs will debate the Nationality and Borders Bill. According to the Government, the Bill has three main objectives:
• To increase the fairness of the system to better protect and support those in need of asylum;
• To deter illegal entry into the United Kingdom, thereby breaking the business model of people smuggling networks and protecting the lives of those they endanger; and
• To remove more easily those with no right to be in the UK.
This debate will be the Bill's Second Reading, following its First Reading on 6 July.
Watch the debate (starting some time after 3pm on Mon 19 July): https://parliamentlive.tv/Commons
Read the debate transcript (available a few hours after the debate has finished): https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2021-07-20
Read the Bill: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbill/58-02/0141/210141.pdf
Read the Bill's explanatory notes: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbill/58-02/0141/en/210141en.pdf
What is the Second Reading of a Bill?
The Second Reading is normally the first opportunity for a Bill to be debated in either the House of Commons, or the House of Lords, and is the stage where the overall principles of the Bill are considered.
If MPs vote in favour of the Bill at Second Reading, it moves on to the next stage of the legislative process, known as Committee Stage. At Committee stage, a Bill is considered line-by-line by MPs, and changes known as amendments can be made.