MSF UK statement on the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill
Ahead of the second reading of the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill today, Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF) is concerned that this Bill in its current form will continue to cause medical and psychological harm to people seeking safety in the UK.
The UK government had a unique opportunity to establish a more compassionate and effective asylum system, in line with its international obligations. Instead, this new Bill focuses on border security and criminalisation.
Under the previous government, almost all safe routes to the UK have been closed or blocked. The absence of alternative routes and increased border securitisation means individuals are forced to make more dangerous journeys. In 2024, at least 78 people died attempting to cross the Channel.
We know that deterrence approaches do not work and only cause further harm, as seen with containment policies in Greece and the UK. The UK government must go further, repeal the Illegal Migration Act in its entirety, the Nationality and Borders Act and expand safe and legal routes to the UK.
Since 2022, MSF has challenged the series of harmful asylum legislation introduced in the UK, including the Nationality and Borders Act (2022), Illegal Migration Act (2023) and Safety of Rwanda Act (2024), based on our experience in the UK and around the world. We welcome that this Bill repeals the inhumane Rwanda plan and certain harmful provisions in the Illegal Migration Act.
MSF in the United Kingdom
In November 2023, Doctors of the World, in partnership with Médecins Sans Frontières UK, began providing medical services to people held at Wethersfield Mass Containment Site through a mobile clinic stationed outside the site.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, we partnered with University College London Hospitals to provide testing, accommodation and care to homeless people in the capital.