The Government’s new asylum bill explained

In early February 2025, the Government’s new ‘Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill’ was introduced to Parliament for its second reading. Read on to find out what the bill proposes, what we think should be changed, and how you can take action.

What is the new Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill? 

This legislation was first announced in the King’s Speech in July 2024 and was formally introduced to Parliament in late January 2025. Its central focus is on border security and the Government’s ambition to ‘smash the gangs’.

What do we know about it? 

The Bill is largely centred around security. To this end, it introduces new ‘counter-terrorism’ style powers and creates a number of new criminal offences. These include clauses which enable immigration and police officers to seize electronic devises (widely briefed by the Government as mobile phones), which potentially contain information relating to facilitating ‘illegal immigration’.  

Additionally, the Bill makes it an offence to “endanger another life” during sea crossings to the UK, a crime for which a person can face up to five years in prison. Meanwhile, supplying or handling “articles for use in immigration crime” can carry a sentence of up to 14 years. There is a high risk that vulnerable refugees fleeing war and conflict could be prosecuted under these expanded offences.  

Are there positive elements to the Bill? 

Yes. Most notably, it repeals the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Act 2024 – in effect scrapping the ‘Rwanda Plan’. While the Government has already made this commitment, formally repealing this harmful policy, which was deemed by the Supreme Court to be unlawful, this is a positive move. By doing so the Government makes a welcome commitment to displaced people’s right to asylum in the UK.  

The Bill also repeals several sections of the Illegal Migration Act 2023. These include: 

• The refusal to process asylum claims and ‘duty to remove’ people seeking asylum to other countries. 

• Powers to indefinitely detain children. 

• Provisions for the Home Office, rather than local authorities, to accommodate unaccompanied children. 

But despite these positive steps, several concerning provisions in the Illegal Migration Act 2023 remain in place. 

Our concerns about the Bill

• It introduces powers which could criminalise refugees seeking sanctuary. No one should be penalised for seeking refuge. 

• While many measures from the Illegal Migration Act have been repealed, it fails to remove those that allow child detention, and block people who are victims of trafficking from using modern slavery protections. Provisions preventing people from certain countries of origin making asylum claims are also still in force. 

• There is an overall overfocus on security at the expense of measures protecting the humanity of vulnerable people. 

What is it missing? 

When it was first outlined in the 2024 King’s Speech, the Government framed one of this Bill’s central goals as modernising the asylum system. To some extent it does make positive steps towards this: notably, it scraps the Safety of Rwanda Act 2024, and repeals the majority of the Illegal Migration Act 2023. 

But in many ways, it feels like a missed opportunity. It focuses solely on border security and deterrence alone, without introducing or mentioning new safe routes. We know from the previous government’s disastrous policies that such an approach will not stop small boat crossings. 

It also fails to build on the many positive moves the new Government has made (including the temporary 56-day extension to the move-on period, and the renewed processing of all asylum claims). 

So what should be done instead?

If the Government is serious about modernising the asylum system, and making it truly fair and compassionate, we urge it to: 

• Introduce new safe routes, including trialling a new refugee visa, broadening the definition of family reunion, and increasing resettlement targets. 

• Granting people seeking asylum the right to work after six months – preventing destitution and poverty. 

• Make the 56-day move-on period permanent. 

What happens now? 

The Bill returned to Parliament on 10 February for its Second Reading, where MPs debated the Bill. It will now proceed to Committee Stage (currently scheduled to sit on 27 February 2025).  

How can the Jewish community take action? 

The Bill is still at an early stage, but we will need your help in taking action. We’ll soon be sharing materials you can use to engage with your MP – watch this space for ways to get involved.