Illicit migrant crossings via the English Channel are soon to become illegal in the UK as the Conservative party attempt to get a handle on the ongoing crisis.
Britain’s Conservative party government is soon set to implement a law that will make small boat migrant crossings over the English Channel illegal for migrants looking to enter the UK.
The new law is aimed at curbing the ongoing Channel Migrant Crisis, and will also include a number of other measures designed to help get Britain’s migration situation under control
According to a report by The Guardian, the new law will give officials the power to jail and prosecute migrants who partake in illicit crossings, as well as allow the country to process potential asylum seekers in third party countries, instead of in the UK.
However, while the UK Conservative Party now seems set to implement these new powers under the Nationalities and Borders Bill, it was not without first staving off a rebellion from within their very own government.
More than 60 party MPs and Peers from the party signed a letter expressing resistance to the bill, demanding certain changes be made, including making it easier for asylum seekers to access work.
However, The Guardian reports that this internal opposition does not appear to have manifested on the floor of Britain’s parliament, with the number of Conservative politicians actually voting against the official government positions on the bill remaining in the low single digits.
While the Conservative party government do seem to be finally trying to get a handle on the migrant crisis, they do so as hundreds of illegal migrants still poor into the UK through the country’s sea border.
According to a report by the Daily Mail, Britain saw a record number of migrants for 2022 land onshore on Tuesday, with 394 people arriving in Kent on 11 separate small boats.
The new additions mean that 2,354 individuals of mostly African and Middle-Eastern origin have crossed the English Channel in March, with the yearly total reaching 3,800
“It’s the same old pattern, it’s going to be about 90 per cent young men, no documentation or ID at all,” lamented Brexit leader Nigel Farage regarding the crossings earlier this month. “They will get put up in hotels or wherever at huge cost to the taxpayer, yet the genuine refugees that will be coming from Ukraine will be housed, predominantly, with British families at a cost of the taxpayer that is a few hundred pounds.”
Despite the extreme nature of the crisis, Britain’s leftist Labour Party has lashed out at the new border control measures, accusing the Conservative Party of implementing measures that are too hardline.
“Today the Tories voted through some of the most draconian measures of the Nationality & Borders Bill, showing how little they truly care about those seeking refuge from war & persecution,” Labour MP Tahir Ali wrote online. “A shameful display, not an ounce of compassion and out of step with what the public want.”
However, some Conservative members have bit back at these criticisms, saying that Labour has not done enough to help fight back against the crossings.
“Labour had a choice today. They voted against our plan to tackle illegal channel crossings through the Nationality & Borders Bill,” Oliver Dowden MP said in a social media post.
“Keir Starmer and Labour have no plan to reform and strengthen our borders, whilst we’re getting on with the job,” he continued.
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