King’s Speech announces new Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill

Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill

"My Government will seek to strengthen the border and make streets safer. A Bill will be introduced to modernise the asylum and immigration system, establishing a new Border Security Command and delivering enhanced counter terror powers to tackle organised immigration crime"

● Strong and effective border security is vital to protect our national security. Small boat crossings are undermining our border security and costing lives. Existing policies have failed to deter crossings or prosecute the people smugglers responsible, and our current asylum system is broken.

● The Bill will support our priority of secure and stronger borders and a properly controlled and managed asylum system by launching a Border Security Command to bring criminal people smugglers to justice, tackling criminal gangs who exploit migrants and fuel the small boats crisis, and clearing the asylum backlog to end hotel use and increase returns.

What does the Bill do?

● The Bill will enable stronger borders and a properly controlled and managed asylum system by:

o giving the new Border Security Command and wider law enforcement the tools and powers they need to crack down on criminal gangs by building on the success of robust powers to counter terrorism and including stronger powers for law enforcement officers to investigate involvement in organised immigration crime for example in stopping and searching at the border.

o providing a strong deterrent and penalty for criminals involved in organised immigration crime (OIC), ensuring there are stronger penalties in place against a range of OIC and border criminality, including preparatory offences such as enabling the advertising the services of a migrant smuggling group and precursor offences such as relating to the supply of materials needed to facilitate organised crime gangs.

o fixing the broken asylum system, making it more efficient and effective to ensure the rules are properly enforced by ending hotel use through clearing the asylum backlog, ensuring fast-track returns for individuals coming from safe countries and ending the failed and incredibly costly Migration and Economic Development Partnership to redirect money into the Border Security Command.

Territorial extent and application

● The Bill will extend and apply UK-wide

Key facts

● The Migration and Economic Development Partnership (MEDP) with Rwanda has failed to deter boat crossings. After two-and-a-half years, no enforced relocations to Rwanda have taken place, and crossings in the first half of the year reached record highs.

● Rwanda has to date received £290 million under the MEDP, with only four volunteers transferred. Withdrawing from the MEDP now will save over £100 million in future payments to Rwanda, alongside tens of millions of pounds of additional payments for a small number of individuals to be relocated.

● Under the previous government's Illegal Migration Act, the vast majority of those claiming asylum after arriving via small boat since March 2023 have been stuck in a backlog, eligible for accommodation with no realistic prospect of removal even for those from safe countries. This has led to a new backlog of claims.

● In the last financial year, total asylum support costs exceeded £5 billion, resulting in a Reserve Claim of £4 billion above forecast spend, driven by the use of asylum hotels which cost the taxpayer almost £8 million per day.