The bill has passed its second reading in the Commons and gives authorities new powers to make seeking asylum more difficult.
Thousands of migrants have crossed the Channel from Europe this year
The government’s Nationality and Borders Bill will only bring more “chaos and delay” to the UK’s “dysfunctional” immigration system, Amnesty International has said.
The bill passed its second reading in the Commons on Tuesday evening by 366 votes to 265.
It would allow the UK to send asylum seekers to a “safe third country” and to submit claims at a “designated place” determined by the secretary of state.
Hundreds of people arrived on the shores of Kent on Monday, including this group at Dungeness
It would also mean anyone knowingly arriving in the UK without permission would be committing a crime, and Border Force officers would have the power to turn back migrant boats using “reasonable force if necessary”.
But Steve Valdez-Symonds, Amnesty UK’s refugee and migrant rights programme director, said: “Criminalising people just for trying to reach a place of safety is morally and legally indefensible.
“People cross the Channel and put themselves in serious danger because there are simply no safe alternatives open to them.
“Unless MPs drastically amend this bill, we will end up with even more chaos and delay in our dysfunctional immigration system.”
Home Secretary Priti Patel says the bill will address the UK’s “broken asylum system” as record numbers of migrants risk traveling on small boats across the Channel.
