Archbishop of Canterbury criticizes UK government's Illegal Migration Bill

LONDON

The British government's latest legislation aimed at stopping people from claiming asylum in the UK if they arrive through unauthorized means faced more criticism as Archbishop Justin Welby said Wednesday that it is “isolationist" and "morally unacceptable."

The House of Lords is debating the Illegal Migration Bill, which marks the government’s latest attempt to stop small boat crossings via the English Channel.

Along with his Labour and Liberal Democrat peers, Welby also criticized the bill, saying he does not think it will even "temporarily stop the boats."

"It is isolationist, it is morally unacceptable and politically impractical to let the poorest countries deal with the crisis alone and cut our international aid," he said.

Welby went on to say that the bill "fails utterly" to take a long-term and strategic view of the challenges of migration, adding it also undermines international cooperation "rather than taking an opportunity for the UK to show leadership."

"There are too many problems for one speech in this bill," he said, recalling the UN Refugee Agency’s warning that the bill could lead to the collapse of the international system that protects refugees.

"Of course, we cannot take (in) everyone and nor should we, but this bill has no sense at all of the long term and of the global nature of the challenge that the world faces."

Meanwhile, Home Secretary Suella Braverman called on the House of Lords to back the bill.

"The British people want us to stop the boats. That is exactly what this Bill is designed to do, which is why we urge the Lords to back it," she said on Twitter.

In April, Bravermen said in a televised interview that migrants who risk their lives to arrive in the UK on small boats are "criminals."

- Illegal Migration Bill

The government introduced the Illegal Migration Bill in March in a bid to address the increasing number of illegal small boat crossings in the UK via the English Channel.

The bill enables the detention of illegal arrivals without bail or judicial review.

However, it has been met with criticism from human rights organizations and refugee advocates, who argue that it violates international law and the UK’s obligations under the Refugee Convention.

It also triggered mass protests across the UK, with concerned citizens and non-governmental organizations accusing the government of scapegoating migrants.

Among them, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), an executive non-departmental public body in the UK, also expressed its opposition to the Illegal Migration Bill.

More than 44,000 migrants arrived in the UK crossing the English Channel last year.

The government's Illegal Migration Bill was passed last month in the House of Commons by 289 votes to 230.