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: United Kingdom

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