The government's new bill is likely to make it harder for undocumented migrants to become legal citizens. It will also be a very big burden and frightening for trafficking victims because it almost criminalizes immigrants.
UK's proposed Immigration Bill is due to have its first reading in the House of Lords this week after passing the House of Commons last week. According to The Guardian, the bill will hand unbelievable control to traffickers and will make it hard for people to escape slavery. Anti-slavery NGOs and labor rights activists said trafficking victims will fear immigration more as they would be treated like illegal workers rather than victims of crime. Focus on Labor Exploitation (Flex) policy director Caroline Robinson said, they are alarmed that the bill will make people more defenseless and the people might not want to come out because they are scared of the consequences the immigration has for them. Robinson added that the impacts of the immigration policies are visible already.
National Observer stated that the Immigration Bill 2015 aspire to lessen the "alluring factors" that have been available to the illegal migrants in Britain like the accessibility of public services. They further explained what the legislation is recommending, making it a criminal offence to work and increasing the punishments. The undocumented immigrants can receive prison terms of up to six months for working illegally, while employers will be fined up to £20,000 per illegal worker.
Open Democracy discussed the possibility of the said bill to weaken further the same group of workers that the Modern Slavery Act is protecting. They said that the bill is contradicting the newly passed law and it threatens the 'victims' who were once encouraged by the law. Lucy Mayblin, the writer of the bill, together with other lawmakers argues that bill will protect the public and will lessen the undocumented migrants.
However, Human Rights activists are very against the said bill. They said the bill could lead to widespread discrimination and will definitely increase trafficking in the country. They are questioning the decisions of the UK government and is afraid another event like from the WW2 might happen.
