UK Government Amends Bill Limiting Power to Deport Underage Illegal Immigrants

A group of people thought to be illegal immigrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, on March 29, 2023. Gareth Fuller/PA Media

The UK government agreed to limit its ability to deport underage illegal immigrants in a bid to see off a Tory rebellion against its new Illegal Migration Bill.

As the bill is set to be discussed in Parliament this week, the Home Office stated on April 23 that the power will only be used in “very limited circumstances.” It noted that the power to detain unaccompanied underage illegal immigrants will only be used “in exceptional circumstances.”

The Home Office also proposed an amendment allowing the home secretary to ignore the European Court of Human Rights’s (ECHR’s) order to stop the removal of a person.

The UK’s human rights watchdog stated that it “remains seriously concerned” that the UK risks breaching “international legal obligations to protect human rights” if the bill is passed.

The government’s flagship bill, if it becomes law, would give the government the power to dismiss asylum claims made by those who arrive in the UK via illegal routes from a country deemed to be safe, detain and remove them, including to a third country such as Rwanda, and set annual caps on the number of immigrants allowed to enter via “safe and legal routes.”

All opposition parties have previously tried to block the bill, making it crucial for the government to avoid any sizable Tory rebellion in order to push it through.

More than a dozen MPs, led by Conservative MP Tim Loughton and including former Justice Secretary Sir Robert Buckland, proposed a number of amendments (pdf), including one that seeks to remove the power to deport unaccompanied children before they turn 18.

The MPs are also seeking to require a best interest and welfare assessment in the three months prior to the teens’ 18th birthdays before deciding whether they should be removed after becoming adults.

In another amendment, the MPs want to ban the government from detaining unaccompanied underage illegal immigrants unless they seem likely to abscond from other accommodations and suffer “significant harm” after doing so, such as being trafficked or exploited.

They also want to require the home secretary to report to Parliament on what safe and legal routes are or will be available and begin consultation on immigration caps within three months of the bill becoming law.

Another amendment supported by former Conservative Party leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith and former Prime Minister Theresa May would prohibit the government from removing someone “unlawfully exploited in the UK” for at least 30 days unless they pose a risk to public safety.

The government said it’s amending the bill to address the concerns.

“While this legislation gives the home secretary the power to remove an unaccompanied child under 18, the government is amending the bill to make clear that this power will only be exercised in very limited circumstances, such as for the purposes of family reunion or removing someone to their safe home country,” a Home Office spokesperson said.

“A further amendment will address concerns about the detention of unaccompanied children by making clear that an unaccompanied child can only be detained in exceptional circumstances, with specific time limits, as set out in regulations.”

European Court

In another proposed amendment, the government will be given the power to ignore the ECHR when the court issues an injunction to block the deportation of an illegal immigrant.

It comes as the Court of Appeal began its four-day hearing on the government’s plan to relocate illegal immigrants, including asylum seekers.

So far, no one has been relocated after the ECHR intervened to empty the first deportation flight and halted further flights pending the results of its domestic judicial review. The Court of Appeal is now expected to rule on the legality of the policy after the high court ruled in the government’s favour in December 2022.

The Refugee Council and children’s charity Barnardo’s previously estimated that 15,000 unaccompanied children will be detained over the next three years if the bill becomes law, based on the number of asylum applications made last year.

Human Rights Watchdog ‘Seriously Concerned’

The Equality and Human Rights Commission said in a statement that it “remains seriously concerned that the bill risks placing the UK in breach of its international legal obligations to protect human rights and exposing people to serious harm.”

“Provisions providing for the detention of children and pregnant women and removing protections for victims of trafficking and modern slavery are particularly worrying,” the watchdog stated.

“Effective, rights-compliant action is needed to ensure that more lives are not lost on dangerous Channel crossings. We welcome the government’s commitment to increase safe, regular routes to the UK for those in need of asylum and recommend these are brought forward alongside the Bill.”

The number of people smuggled into the UK in small boats has increased dramatically over the past four years, to 45,755 people in 2022 from 299 people in 2018.

Home Office data show that since January 2018, 75 percent of the small boat arrivals have been adult males and about one-sixth (17 percent) have been younger than 18.

Last year, the number of small boat arrivals accounted for almost 85 percent of all illegal immigrants detected (54,090), compared to 4,569 inadequately documented air arrivals (8 percent). There were also 3,456 people who were detected in the UK (6 percent) and 310 people who were detected at British seaports, Home Office figures show.

The latest data show the number has decreased by 17 percent in the first quarter this year compared to the same three-month period last year.

But the crossings during the 90-day period this year and last year occurred on exactly the same number of days, suggesting that the reduction may not be owing to weather conditions.