London: Following the passage of a long-debated bill to limit immigration by Parliament, a barge that will house up to 500 asylum seekers arrived in England on Tuesday.
After the government's contentious legislation was approved after facing opposition in the House of Lords, the Bibby Stockholm was towed into Portland by a tug.
In order to prevent migrants from risky English Channel crossings in small boats, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's strategy includes both the boat and the bill. After King Charles III has given his approval, the legislation will become a law.
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The overcrowded dinghies and other small boats that cross from northern France carrying migrants hoping to live in the UK have been vowed to "stop by boats" by the Conservative government. In 2022, more than 45,000 people attempted to cross the English Channel for Britain; some of them perished.
The bill will stop migrants from requesting asylum in the UK if they enter the country illegally and is designed to discourage such journeys. According to the law, those who break the law will be barred from ever entering the UK again and will either be sent back home or deported to another safe country.
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The Court of Appeal ruled last month that the government's plan to send some people who arrive without authorization to Rwanda was unlawful. The UK Supreme Court will hear the government's appeal.
The unelected House of Lords, which can amend but not block legislation, and the House of Commons, where the ruling Conservatives have a majority, fought it out all night Monday before the bill was approved.
Amendments that would have included protections against modern slavery and restrictions on child detention were defeated by elected members of Parliament.
The bill, according to Best of Britain, will deprive refugees and asylum seekers of their rights under international law and result in more people being detained at taxpayer expense. Best of Britain works to maintain close international ties after Brexit.
The CEO of Best for Britain, Naomi Smith, said in a statement that "this cruel bill will now give the government the green light to flout international law and mistreat refugees to distract from their own failure to fix the problems they created when ministers closed safe routes to asylum." "This policy is completely unworkable and morally repugnant."
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Simon Murray, a member of the House of Lords and undersecretary of state for the Home Office, pleaded with his colleagues to approve the legislation, claiming that the UK's asylum system was overburdened and that taxpayers were footing the bill for their care at a cost of $7.8 million per day.
People won't risk their lives and pay criminals thousands of pounds to enter the UK illegally if they are aware that there is no way for them to do so, according to Murray. Therefore, it is only right that we stop the boats and dismantle the way that criminal gangs take advantage of helpless people.