Anti-racist groups, refugee rights activists, and other progressive sections in the UK have stepped up their protests as the notorious Illegal Migration Bill brought in by the Tory government completed its proceedings in the UK parliament. It was passed in the House of Lords on July 18 and received royal assent on July 20 to become a law.
The anti-refugee bill introduced by Home Secretary Suella Braverman in March 2023 envisages clamping down on the small boat refugee crossings to the UK through the English Channel. The law encourages the state to detain and deport those who arrive in that country by ‘illegal means’ and block them from returning. Groups like Stand Up to Racism and the Communist Party of Britain (CPB), among others, have condemned the bill and resolved to fight to repeal it. Meanwhile, the UN agencies for refugees and human rights have slammed the bill as against the UK’s obligations under international law, which will have profound consequences for people in need of protection.
Other aspects of the government’s approach to refugees are also being challenged and opposed. On June 29, the London Court of Appeal in a historic judgment ruled that the UK’s notorious Rwanda asylum plan was illegal. Under the deal signed in 2022 and updated in 2023, illegal migrants in the UK would be relocated to Rwanda for processing their asylum and resettlement. In November 2022, the UK also updated its deal with France to increase surveillance in the English Channel to block migrant crossings. The UK has also struck multiple deals with Albania to facilitate the return of Albanian refugees who failed to secure asylum in the UK, those in jail, and people with expired visas.
Plans to house asylum seekers in barges docked in British ports was another notorious move by the Sunak government which received widespread condemnation. On July 18, activists from various trade unions and Stand Up to Racism demonstrated at the Portland port in Dorset, protesting the arrival of the barge Bibby Stockholm that will be used to house asylum seekers. Stand Up to Racism also announced a national organizing conference on October 21, titled ‘‘Resisting the rise of racism and fascism.’
The group stated that “Rishi Sunak and Suella Braverman are putting racism and the scapegoating of refugees at the center of government policy to distract from and scapegoat for the cost of living crisis that it has created. Sunak’s ‘stop the boats’ and Braverman’s ‘invasion’ rhetoric has led to a resurgence of fascist mobilizations targeting refugees. The government’s so-called ‘anti-woke’ agenda is also being used by the far right to mobilize.”
“The so-called “Illegal Migration Bill” effectively ends the right to asylum. For those crossing the Channel there are no alternative safe routes to enter Britain. The ‘Rwanda plan’ means refugees could potentially face deportation when they get here. The Nationality and Borders Act and the Windrush scandal show how the hostile environment toward refugees leads to racism towards established migrant, African, Asian, Caribbean, Gypsy, Roma, Traveler and other communities,” it added.
On July 19, the Communist Party of Britain (CPB) stated that “The Communist Party continues to oppose the Government’s racist and anti-migrant rhetoric. We call upon legislators to repeal all racist immigration and nationality legislation as soon as possible. We commit ourselves to working with those who oppose racism and its bedfellow fascism.”
