UK PM Rishi Sunak defends detaining migrant kids entering country illegally

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has defended detaining child migrants as part of the new immigration bill. He claimed that leaving them out of the new migrant legislation would be an incentive for criminal gangs to bring them to the UK in small boats.

The House of Commons is currently debating the Illegal Migration Bill under which migrants and asylum seekers entering the country illegally via dangerous Channel crossings will be detained and removed swiftly. They won't be left with the option to challenge or appeal deportation. The bill covers families with children but lets those under 18 appeal the deportation. However, upon attaining the age of 18, they can be deported.

Commons Liaison Committee grilled Sunak on the matter of the detention of kids for over two hours.

Tory MP Caroline Nokes asked Sunak why children weren't exempt from the legislation. Responding to him, Sunak said, "The intention of this policy is not to detain children, but it's important that we don't inadvertently create a policy that incentivises people to bring children who wouldn't otherwise come here."

"Otherwise you create an incentive for a criminal gang to bring a child with them when they otherwise wouldn't be, and I don't think that is a good thing."

Sunak stressed that the kids won't be separated from their parents, and all of them will be housed together in "appropriate" facilities. Stressing that they have thought about the welfare of kids before preparing the bill, Sunak said, "A lot of thought [had] gone into getting [the bill] right."

"I think we've got a policy that does what we need it to do, which is treat people with decency, treats people humanely, safeguards children's welfare, but also achieve the objectives that we're trying to achieve, which is to break the cycle of these criminal gangs and stop people coming here who should have been coming here," Sunak said.

Conservative MP Tim Loughton said "serious assurances" are needed to ensure we don't return to the "barbaric days" of detaining children in immigration centres indefinitely.

(With inputs from agencies)

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