By Andy Drozdziak
London, England, Feb 17, 2025 / 07:00 am
The U.K. government is “choosing criminalization over compassion and protection” with its new asylum and immigration bill, according to the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales.
The Border Security, Asylum, and Immigration Bill is currently making its way through the U.K. Parliament and passed its second reading on Feb. 10. It comes as asylum and immigration have been highlighted as key priorities by both the current Labor government, elected in July 2024, and the previous Conservative government.
Government statistics showed that, in 2024, 36,816 migrants arrived in the U.K. on 695 small boats, compared with 2018 when 300 people arrived on boats. Both Labor and Conservative administrations have advocated stringent measures to counter immigration.
The new bill stipulates automatic refusal of U.K. citizenship to illegal immigrants to the U.K., no matter how much time has elapsed.
The new law would make it illegal to enter the U.K. without approval, even though the U.K. signed on to the 1951 U.N. Refugee Convention, which states that neither asylum seekers nor refugees can be penalized for entering illegally.
Bishop Paul McAleenan, lead bishop for Migrants and Refugees, criticized the government for imposing “harsher measures” on those seeking asylum and for failing to provide safe and legal routes for those who need them.
“This bill seems to favor criminalization over compassion and protection,” McAleenan told CNA. “The new government has done little to address the lack of safe and legal routes — genuine alternatives remain unavailable.
