Britain asked to rethink immigration legislation

Critics complain it will create a two-tier system for those seeking asylum in UK

Critics of proposed United Kingdom legislation that would limit the ways people can claim asylum in the country are hoping unrest in Ukraine and the resulting exodus of refugees will prompt a rethink.

The Nationality and Borders Bill is set to be considered in the House of Lords, the UK's second chamber, this week before eventually returning to lawmakers in the House of Commons.

It was drawn up by Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government after a reinterpretation of the country's obligations under the United Nations' Refugee Convention.

One of the more contentious parts of the proposed legislation calls for people entering the UK by illegal means in order to claim asylum to potentially face criminal charges. Another contentious part calls for people who leave conflict zones and other places of oppression to seek asylum in the first safe country they reach. And people who arrive illegally in the UK would, additionally, never be allowed to have full citizenship.

Critics say the bill would make it impossible for Ukrainians to seek asylum in the UK after crossing the border into countries including Poland and Romania.

Philippa Stroud, a Conservative Party member of the House of Lords, told the Financial Times newspaper the proposed legislation would create a two-tier refugee system, with asylum seekers who arrive by legal routes treated better than those who arrive illegally.

"Just as over 100,000 refugees are fleeing war-torn Ukraine, Britain is about to enact the Nationality and Borders Bill that would deny them even the most basic of rights," she said. "It is a piece of law that means victims in the harrowing images we have all seen would be unable to call Britain a safe haven and would be held in perpetual sub-refugee status."

Stroud, a former head of the Centre for Social Justice think tank, said she will also attempt to attach an amendment to the proposed legislation, overturning a prohibition on refugees working while their asylum applications are processed.

Opposition parties, including the Scottish National Party and the Liberal Democrats, say the bill would criminalize asylum seekers and have vowed to oppose it.

More than 1,000 religious leaders, including prominent Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs, added their voices to the debate on Monday in an open letter to the government that warned British values were under threat.

"While there is still conflict and injustice in the world, there will always be desperate people needing to seek sanctuary from war, persecution, and suffering," they wrote. "We cannot close our door on them, but this bill does just that."

But Liz Truss, the UK's foreign secretary, said the government is trying to end the dangerous small-boat crossings of the English Channel that many asylum seekers are making.

"I want to send a very strong message that the United Kingdom welcomes refugees," she told Sky News.