Government Cracks Down on Illegal Migrants with New Illegal Migration Bill Amendments
The UK government has introduced tough new amendments to the Illegal Migration Bill, aiming to speed up the removal of people who have no right to be in the country. The measures also beef up protections for vulnerable unaccompanied children crossing the Channel.
Fast-Track Removals and Stronger Safeguards
Signed off on Friday 21 April, these amendments will help fast-track deportations and clamp down on abusive legal challenges that delay removals. Courts will no longer be able to block removals with last-minute legal hurdles, except in cases where individuals face “serious and irreversible harm.”
Legal challenges will be dealt with remotely after removals, ensuring only genuine cases can halt the process. Ministers will also get discretion on whether to comply with interim measures issued by the European Court of Human Rights, while working to reform the slow and cumbersome Rule 39 process in Strasbourg.
New Powers for Immigration Officers and Tougher Age Checks
- Immigration officers will gain new powers to search and seize mobile phones and other electronic devices from illegal entrants — vital to confirm whether someone has the right to stay.
- Protections will be tightened around adults posing as children: anyone disputing their age who refuses scientific testing will be treated as an adult, closing a common loophole exploited by traffickers.
Safe and Legal Routes to be Reviewed
The government will consult local authorities within three months of the bill becoming law to assess their capacity to support people arriving via safe and legal routes. A report on current and proposed legal pathways will follow within six months.
There will also be an annual Parliament-agreed cap on safe and legal routes — aiming to protect communities while supporting genuine asylum seekers rebuilding lives in the UK.
Ministers Speak Out
Home Secretary Suella Braverman said: “The British public are rightly fed up with people coming to the UK through dangerous small boat crossings, and myself and the Prime Minister are absolutely committed to stopping the boats once and for all.
The changes I am announcing today will help secure our borders and make it easier for us to remove people by preventing them from making last minute, bogus claims, while ensuring we strengthen our safe and legal routes.
My focus remains on ensuring this landmark piece of legislation does what it is intended to do, and we now must 1 to pass it through Parliament as soon as possible so we can stop the boats.”
Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick added: “It is not fair that people can pay criminal gangs thousands of pounds and pass through multiple safe countries to come to the UK illegally.
The only way to break the business model of the evil people smugglers and secure our borders is to make sure that if people come to the UK illegally, they won’t be able to stay.
These amendments will make it easier to swiftly remove individuals who come here illegally from safe countries, whilst reaffirming our commitment to help those directly from regions of conflict and instability.”
Next Steps
The Illegal Migration Bill will return to the House of Commons next week for the report stage, with the government backing these new amendments. The moves mark a significant step in the UK’s crackdown on illegal crossings and human smuggling operations.
