UK Home Secretary Proposes Asylum Ban on Channel Migrants

Facts

• On Tuesday, during the Conservative Party conference, UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman proposed banning migrants who cross the English Channel from claiming asylum in Britain. The UK government has faced increasing pressure to act on the issue, with more than 30K arrivals this year, surpassing last year's record.
• "It's time to tackle the small boats," she said, "to make it clear that the only route to the United Kingdom is through a safe and legal route." Braverman continued with assertions that any migrant who illegally enters the UK from a safe nation, "should be swiftly returned to [their] home country or relocated to Rwanda," a reference to a controversial government relocation scheme.
• Under an agreement with Rwanda finalized in April, the UK announced that some migrants who arrive in Britain via small boats or as stowaways would be sent to Rwanda to have their asylum claims processed. Rwanda has already been paid £120M by the UK government for the proposal, but the first deportation flight was canceled in June, due to a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights.
• Braverman defended her predecessor Priti Patel's divisive policy and criticized what she perceived as interference by the ECHR in UK matters. "We need to take back control," she told members of the conference.
• Human rights groups have voiced severe criticism of Braverman's address, including the founder of refugee charity Care4Calais, who called the proposal, "barbaric and unnecessary." The chief executive of Refugee Action, said: "It is now clear that this Home Secretary cares only for keeping people out, not keeping them safe."
• According to statistics from the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD), 541 people arrived in the UK in nine boats on Monday, while almost 8K crossed the Channel to Britain in September.

Sources: Reuters, Independent, Al Jazeera, Sky News, and Standard.

Narratives

• Right narrative, as provided by The Telegraph. The European Commission on Human Rights has grossly expanded its reach by ruling on asylum claims that are out of its purview. Braverman is seeking to deter illegal entry to the UK and to restore fairness to the UK's asylum system. This effort will stop smuggling profiteering and reinforce the rights of genuine asylum seekers.
• Left narrative, as provided by Mirror. A blanket ban is an immoral and inhumane response to this issue and will only increase attacks on refugees who have every right to be in the UK. People who have escaped from some of the world's worst horrors should not have to face these kinds of threats just to claim asylum in the UK.

Predictions