UK plans to toughen immigration law to prevent migrants arriving by boat from seeking asylum

MADRID, 5 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The British Government finalizes a law to prevent migrants who arrive on British soil in small boats, especially through the English Channel, from requesting asylum in the country, as the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland announced this Sunday. , Chris Heaton-Harris.

"The legislation is very black and white," Heaton-Harris told Sky. "If you come to the country illegally, you cannot apply for asylum," he added.

The British Prime Minister has made it a priority to prevent asylum seekers from traveling to the UK in small boats, often inflatable boats, dinghies or kayaks. The ships usually leave from France, and Sunak is expected to discuss the situation when he meets French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Friday.

"Illegal immigration is not fair to British taxpayers, it is not fair to those who come here legally, and it is not right that criminal gangs are allowed to continue their immoral trade," Sunak told the Sunday newspaper. Express'.

Heaton-Harris pointed to the "safe and legal" routes used by refugees arriving in the UK from Ukraine and Afghanistan as successful models.

While the UK government already has a law to deal with the small boat crisis, Heaton-Harris has explained that tougher regulations are needed to counter the stress that increased illegal migration is causing in communities around the UK. United Kingdom.

A record 45,756 migrants arrived in the UK via the Channel last year, up more than 60 per cent on the previous year. Since May, around 42 percent of those arriving by small boat have come from Albania, which the UK considers a safe country, according to Home Office figures.