Around 2000 protesters gather in London to protest UK migrants plan

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
18 Mar 2023 23:41

Protesters marched all the way towards Downing Street where Prime Minister Rishi Sunak resides.

Portraits and photos from the AntiRacismDay protest and march today outside the BBC News building in London

Around 2,000 protesters marched in the streets of London today to denounce the UK's controversial bill on illegal migration that, if passed, would undoubtedly annihilate refugee rights for asylum in the country.

Several demonstrators bearing union badges were seen holding banners that read "no human being is illegal" and "no to racism, yes to equal treatment."

Portraits and photos from the @AntiRacismDay protest & march today outside the @BBCNews building in #London (1/2) pic.twitter.com/PX0SLjbdvv
— Sammy Kraft (@Metros_Photos) March 18, 2023

They marched all the way towards Downing Street where Prime Minister Rishi Sunak resides.

Sunak, who is himself the son of Indian immigrants, has laid the five-point illegal immigration plan himself aiming to stop small boats from crossing the Channel to the UK.

"People in this country are decent... and they're willing to open their arms to people who are fleeing terrible circumstances," one of the organizers Mark Daly told AFP.

"The government is trying to make these people not only unwelcome but illegal. We cannot classify people as illegal," he said. "It's a racist policy from a racist government."

Protest Downing St. #London #Protest #UK pic.twitter.com/6dXqNlTuYD
— blackbettyog (@Elizabe31898165) March 18, 2023

Protests were also held in several parts of the UK, including in Glasgow, Scotland, and the Welsh capital Cardiff.

The controversial bill aims to outlaw asylum demands from all illegal arrivals. It would instead send asylum seekers to third countries deemed "safe" such as Rwanda in a bid to stop migrants from crossing the English Channel.

It will also ban migrants permanently from ever coming back to the UK. Minors will however be sparred from the regulation.

In 2022, an estimated 45,000 migrants arrived illegally via the English Channel on small boats.

On March 8, France and the UK agreed on a $576 million deal to combat illegal immigration across the English Channel.

The deal will be financed over the next three years and will be used to finance the construction of a new detention center for migrants in France.

It will also finance the deployment of 500 French security and support agents "to enable the fastest detection of attempted crossings" by small boats, as per a joint statement issued by both countries.