UK: An overwhelming majority of Britons have backed the idea that illegal migrants should be barred from applying for asylum status, as the migrant crisis in the English Channel continues to rage.
A nearly three-to-one majority of the British public are in favour of the government’s proposed reform that would ban illegal migrants from applying for refugee status if they came through a “safe third country” before arriving in the UK.
Polling from YouGov found that 61 per cent would support such a measure, compared to only 21 per cent who were in opposition.
By a margin of 64 per cent to 15 per cent, the public also said that it would be fair to deport asylum seekers with inadmissible claims to safe third party countries, with 87 per cent of Conservatives backing the measure.
Even Labour Party voters generally supported the measure, with 47 per cent saying that the law would be fair compared to just 28 per cent who said that it would be unfair.
The majority of the British public (60 to 21 per cent) are also in favour of adopting the Australian model of housing illegal migrants in purpose-built facilities rather than in hotels, as has been the case resulting from the coronavirus pandemic and the record waves of migrants landing on British beaches.
The polling came in the wake of Home Secretary Priti Patel declaring on Monday that the British public is “fed up” with the constant flow of illegal migration.
“The British public are fed up, they’re absolutely fed up and demoralised with what we have been seeing, and I’ve been very clear to my department — as I have been over the last 12 months — about operational activity from Border Force,” the Home Secretary said.
Patel has been spearheading the New Plan for Immigration, which is expected to come into law later this year. The post-Brexit immigration overhaul would only permit those migrants who enter the country through official means to apply for asylum status.
The proposed border reforms would also seek to impose life sentences for people smugglers assisting migrants to enter the country illegally.
The Home Secretary has also vowed to empower the British Border Force with the ability to turn back migrant boats in the English Channel to France. This proposal would be contingent upon the UK reaching an agreement with France on the return of migrants, something which the French have so far been reticent to agree to.
Notwithstanding her persistent promises to reform the “broken” system, the Home Secretary has come under increasing pressure, as the wave of illegal aliens pouring into the country continues to rise, despite promises from the government to “take back control” of the nation’s borders after Brexit.
So far this year some 4,614 boat migrants have been brought ashore in Britain, with another 93 illegals reaching the UK on Monday, according to The Telegraph. Projections have predicted that if the current pace continues, over 20,000 migrants will land in the UK by the end of the year — more than double last year’s record numbers.
Patel has also so far failed to deport any of the 1,503 illegal migrants who came to the country after passing through safe countries since the beginning of the year.
by Kurt Zindulka
