Rishi Sunak has made immigration control one of his priorities. In particular because of the situation on the coasts: last year, more than 45,000 migrants arrived by the Channel on small boats, and more than 3,000 since the beginning of the year. These migrants, many of whom seek asylum in the country, are accommodated in hotels at state expense, sometimes causing local tensions, especially as the asylum system struggles to process this influx of applications.
It is to regain control of this file that Rishi Sunak presented a bill on March 7, on which he has been working since his arrival in the government. In concrete terms, it effectively makes asylum inaccessible to migrants who have arrived illegally, since it provides for the rapid expulsion of migrants who have arrived without authorization. It prohibits them from applying for asylum and subsequently settling in the UK or applying for British nationality. It also facilitates the detention of migrants until their deportation to a third country deemed safe. This project has raised a volley of green wood from refugee aid associations, which consider it contrary to international law.