A man walks near the Houses of Parliament during sunrise in London, Britain October 21, 2022. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls
London, United Kingdom 鈥斅燭he UK government on Sunday announced increased fines for employers and landlords who allow migrants without papers to work for them or rent their properties, as part of measures to deter migrant arrivals.
The Conservative government, languishing in the polls ahead of a general election due next year, wants to stop illegal crossings of the English Channel in small boats.
The interior ministry said 鈥渋llegal working and renting are significant pull factors鈥� for migrants making the dangerous journey.
Civil penalties for employers will triple to up to 拢45,000 ($57,000) per worker, the ministry said in a statement.
Fines for landlords will rise from 拢1,000 per occupier to a maximum of 拢10,000, with fines for lodgers also increasing.
The fines will be higher for repeat offenders.
Landlords and employers are required to check the elegibility of their employees and tenants.
The new penalties will come into force in early 2024, according to the ministry, which said they were last revised in 2014.
鈥淢aking it harder for illegal migrants to work and operate in the UK is vital to deterring dangerous, unnecessary small boat crossings,鈥� Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick said.
Barge controversy
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who became leader last October, has pledged to stop the thousands of migrants crossing the Channel following an uptick in arrivals.
Last month his government passed a law, criticized by the United Nations, that bars asylum claims by migrants arriving via the Channel and other 鈥渋llegal鈥� routes.
It also mandates their transfer to third countries, such as Rwanda, but that element of the law has been bogged down in court challenges.
London also wants to reduce the cost of hotel accommodation for asylum seekers waiting for their claims to be processed, and has suggested the use of disused military bases, barges and even tents.
The Bibby Stockholm, a barge docked on the southern coast of England and set to house up to 500 asylum seekers despite local opposition, was expecting its first arrivals last week but has experienced delays.
Jenrick told Sky 黑料社 on Sunday that the first asylum seekers would arrive on the barge 鈥渋n the coming days鈥� and assured that the facility is safe.
Also on Sunday, the main opposition Labour party said that if elected it would temporarily continue using barges and other infrastructure already in place while a backlog of asylum claims is tackled.
Labour鈥檚 spokesman for immigration, Stephen Kinnock, said he was 鈥渃onfident鈥� that if his party formed a government it would get on top of the backlog 鈥渨ithin six months鈥�.