UK pushes on with asylum law despite rights group opposition

By JILL LAWLESS
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — The British government is pushing its contentious migration bill forward in Parliament, despite a call from Europe’s top human rights organization to block the legislation. The Illegal Migration Bill would bar asylum claims by anyone who reaches the U.K. by unauthorized means, and compel the government to detain and then deport them “to their home country or a safe third country.” They would be banned from ever reentering the U.K. The House of Commons is holding the first of two days of debate on the bill Monday. It comes after the 46-nation Council of Europe urged British lawmakers to “prevent legislation that is incompatible with the United Kingdom’s international obligations.”