The UK Government introduced into Parliament today its Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill. Hope for Justice’s response to the content of the Bill is below:
We welcome the steps taken by the government within the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill to end the Rwanda plan and repeal many of the provisions of the Illegal Migration Act 2023 that sought to limit access to protection and support for survivors of modern slavery.
There is more to be done to ensure the rights of survivors and those at risk of modern slavery are adequately protected. This includes ensuring that survivors are not disqualified from systems designed to identify and protect them, are not subject to detention and that their international rights are upheld.
The Government must of course take action to disrupt trafficking networks and to prevent exploitation. However, there is an urgent need to address the multitude of challenges within the immigration and asylum systems which create the conditions for traffickers to exploit people in vulnerable positions.
Many of those who are exploited in the UK arrived here legally only to be forced into conditions of modern slavery by their employer: visa schemes which make workers’ immigration status dependent on their employer create an environment for exploitation to go unreported. Many who arrive in the UK by irregular routes are in an extremely precarious position. Those who are trafficked have often been deceived into coming into the UK including being lied to about their real immigration status. They may have been exploited by traffickers en route and be at risk of further significant harm.
Law and policy must comply with international law, which upholds the human rights of survivors. It must be shaped by those with lived and learned experience. It is therefore disappointing that, prior to the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill’s introduction, no formal consultation was carried out with survivors and those working with them in their recovery. We would have welcomed the opportunity to contribute to the development of the Bill and share the impact of other recent legislation which has diminished survivors’ rights, including the challenges arising from the Nationality and Borders Act 2022.
Survivors of modern slavery face many barriers to justice throughout their journey of recovery, and even in reporting their experience to authorities. This legislation underlines the importance of ensuring that all survivors have access to safeguarding, support and an Independent Modern Slavery Advocate to help them assert their rights and needs as they navigate complex and intimidating systems.
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