World Immigration News

Nishiyama Immigration Service
> World Immigration News

Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill won’t respect migrants’ rights without reform, Joint Committee on Human Rights finds

Release Date
2025-06-25
Media
Electronic Immigration Network
Summary
The UK Parliament's Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) released a report on the Government’s Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, recommending several amendments to ensure the Bill aligns with human rights obligations and targets people smugglers rather than penalising refugees and victims of modern slavery.

Key concerns include:

Overly broad offences: The Bill introduces new criminal offences that could unintentionally criminalise vulnerable individuals, including refugees, due to vague definitions and low thresholds for culpability.

Recommended changes: The JCHR urges the government to narrow these offences to apply only to those acting for financial or material gain, and to raise the mental threshold from “knows or suspects” to “intends” or “is reckless.”

Legal safeguards: The Committee calls for the “reasonable excuse” defence to be interpreted in line with international conventions (e.g. Refugee Convention Article 31), and for new offences to be covered under existing legal protections in the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999.

Specific clauses: Clauses 13–16 should be revised to avoid criminalising innocent behaviour (e.g. carrying hygiene kits); Clause 18 should be tightened to prevent overreach in prosecuting sea travel; Clause 52’s electronic monitoring powers must be limited by stricter privacy standards.

Data privacy: Provisions allowing biometric data sharing with foreign entities should be removed due to insufficient safeguards.

Safe countries list: The JCHR also criticises Section 59 of the Illegal Migration Act 2023, warning that blanket inadmissibility of asylum claims from listed countries (e.g. India, Albania) risks refoulement and must allow for case-by-case review.

Chair Lord David Alton concluded that while the Bill aims to tackle serious immigration crime, its current form risks punishing the very people it should protect. The Committee advocates for a more targeted, rights-respecting legislative framework.
Tags
UK

News Articles including "UK"

Released on
Article Title
Tags
2025-03-13
Home Office announces new immigration policy changes(NHS Employers)
UK
2025-03-10
Tories announce policy to deport all foreign nationals with criminal convictions(The Guardian)
UK
2025-03-03
Expired BRPs extended until 01 June 2025(Freeths)
UK
2025-02-28
Migration: How many people come to work and study in the UK and what are the rules?(BBC)
UK
2025-02-10
UK government defends immigration crackdown amid far-right surge(euronews)
UK
2025-02-10
How Trump 2.0 Immigration Policies Could Strain Modi’s U.S. Strategy(CSIS)
UK
2025-02-10
Home Office launches new immigration raids as it vaunts deportation numbers(The Guardian)
UK
2025-02-07
UK's tougher immigration policy risks trapping victims in modern slavery(Reuters)
UK
2025-01-21
Gareth Lewis: Where do parties stand on immigration?(BBC)
UK
2025-01-20
New research highlights challenges of asylum accommodation in the UK(Electronic Immigration Network)
UK
2025-01-16
Next steps for a more efficient immigration system(GOV.UK)
UK
2025-01-08
UK Immigration Updates: Sponsorship Costs and Electronic Travel Authorisation(Morgan Lewis)
UK
2025-01-07
Guilty plea by adviser providing unregulated immigration advice leads to suspended prison sentence(Free Movement)
UK
2025-01-06
Foreign crime figures prove the folly of mass immigration(The Telegraph)
UK
2025-01-04
UK rollout of eVisas could leave non-EU migrants ‘vulnerable’(The Guardian)
UK
2025-01-02
Refugee Council urges UK to introduce special visas in effort to stop deaths in the Channel(The Guardian)
UK
2024-12-27
What does the UK eVisa switch mean for me? Millions forced to change to digital immigration system in 2025(The Independent)
UK
2024-12-25
Red Wall MPs tell Starmer to get tough on immigration or we will lose our seats to Reform(The Telegraph)
UK
2024-12-12
Immigration Detention in the UK(The Migration Observatory)
UK
2024-12-09
Lady Chief Justice highlights ‘huge’ 82% increase in First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum) cases in last quarter(Electronic Immigration Network)
UK
2024-12-07
Employers should stop playing the immigration card – it won’t work any more(The Telegraph)
UK
2024-12-04
Visa holders should switch to an eVisa now(GOV.UK)
UK
2024-12-03
Use expired ID to get to UK, says minister in charge of flawed eVisas(Guardian)
UK
2024-12-02
Migrants’ Experiences of the UK Immigration System: Key Insights(Freeths)
UK
2024-11-29
Migration: How many people come to the UK and how have rules changed?(BBC)
UK
2024-11-29
UK's Starmer pledges to reduce immigration with points-based reform(Reuters)
UK
2024-11-28
Government restoring order to “broken” immigration system(GOV.UK)
UK
2024-11-27
UK immigration update: Electronic Travel Authorisation scheme rollout(Farrer ＆ Co)
UK
2024-11-27
Tories got immigration wrong, says Kemi Badenoch(BBC)
UK