Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill: Progress of the bill

The Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill has completed Commons committee stage. The committee made no significant changes to the bill other than to add two new clauses proposed by the government.

The bill was granted a second reading on 10 February 2025 by 333 votes to 109. Committee scrutiny took place over six days, including oral and written evidence.

There was no significant opposition to some aspects of the bill, such as law enforcement access to customs data and measures carried over from a Conservative criminal justice bill. Areas of dispute included:

• The powers of the Border Security Commander, which Conservative MPs on the committee felt were not strong enough.
• New immigration offences: Conservative MPs queried whether they would be effective in relation to conduct overseas, whereas the Scottish National Party’s Pete Wishart worried about criminalising asylum seekers.
• Powers to seize mobile phones from migrants: Conservative MPs felt they did not go far enough, whereas the SNP and Liberal Democrats thought they were too broad and lacked safeguards.
• Repealing the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Act 2024, which Conservative MPs voted against.
• Repealing most of the Illegal Migration Act 2023, which the Conservative and SNP MPs voted against (the SNP proposing repeal of the entire act).

Opposition MPs also proposed various new clauses which were not approved. These included Conservative proposals for stricter rules on legal migration and Liberal Democrat / SNP proposals for humanitarian routes of entry for asylum seekers.

The two new clauses approved at committee stage were about ankle tags for migrants with criminal convictions and legal complexity in post-Brexit residence rights. The government has announced that it will propose more new clauses for debate at Commons report stage, which is scheduled for Monday 12 May 2025.