This content was published on March 24, 2021 – 15:04
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London, Mar 24 (EFE).- The UK government presented this Wednesday a plan toughening requirements for seeking asylum in the country to stop immigrants arriving through “illegal” channels.
In an appearance before Parliament, the home minister, conservative Priti Patel, detailed “the biggest transformation of the asylum system in decades”, a plan she described as “fair but firm” which seeks, among other things, “to despair” at merchants who sent immigrants in small boats through the English Channel.
The initiative, which complements the new points-based immigration system introduced after Brexit, will be submitted to public consultation until May 6, after which the new law will be passed, Patel said.
According to the minister, the changes pursue three goals: increasing the “efficiency” of the system to support “those who really need asylum”; “preventing illegal entry” into the country and “destroying the business model of criminal networks”; and “to make it easier to expel those who don’t have the right” are here.
As part of the plan, which has been described as “inhumane” by the opposition and refugee organizations, people arriving in the UK from other “safe” countries where they may have applied for protection will receive fewer facilities.
Those arriving from places like neighboring France “are not seeking shelter from imminent danger, as the asylum system says,” but instead “choose England as their favorite destination” before anything else, Patel said.
The Conservative government is also planning to “speed up” the process of expelling people whose applications have been rejected and has not ruled out reaching agreements with third countries to comply with procedures.
A few days ago, Gibraltar indicated it would not offer that service, after the press reported that Interior was considering placing a case processing center there.
Immigrants arriving in Britain on smuggler-arranged travel will only receive temporary residence permits and may be deported, while more controls will be put in place to detect adults posing as minors, the government proposal said.
Criminals chartering boats across the English Channel (between France and the UK) can face life in prison and deported immigrants with criminal records returning to the country face up to five years in prison, compared to the current maximum of six months.
Instead, the government’s plan would offer immediate permanent residency to people arriving via “lawful resettlement routes”, especially from countries such as Iran and Syria, Patel said.
The minister argued that currently the UK’s “generous” asylum system was on the brink of collapse, with 109,000 requests pending, due to the fact that valid requests were added to requests for people arriving “via illegal parallel routes”.
Labor spokesman for Home Affairs, Nick Thomas-Symonds, attributed the delay “to government mismanagement” and added that new measures “are not going to work” to dismantle organized networks.
The Director of the Refugee Council, Enver Solomon, criticized that the Government wanted to discriminate between immigrants “on the basis of their route of arrival” while Tim Naor, of Action for Refugees, considered the proposal “cruel and heartless”. . EFE
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