UK says plan to stop Channel migrants pushes bounds of law

By JILL LAWLESS
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — The U.K. government says it’s ready for human-rights legal challenges to a tough new law intended to stop tens of thousands of migrants a year reaching the country in small boats across the English Channel. Home Secretary Suella Braverman said Tuesday the government had “pushed the boundaries of international law” with a bill that will bar asylum claims by anyone who reaches Britain by unauthorized means. It also will compel the government to detain and then deport them “to their home country or a safe third country.” They would be barred from ever reentering Britain. The government says its “Illegal Migration Bill” will deter migrants and hobble smuggling gangs. Critics say the plan is unethical and unworkable.