LONDON - Anyone entering the UK illegally will be barred from staying, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said in an interview published on Sunday, ahead of new laws due to come into force next week.
Sunak has made stopping small boats one of his top priorities in response to pressure from his own lawmakers to find a solution to the influx of migrants crossing the Channel from Europe.
"Make no mistake about it, if you come here illegally, you will not be able to stay," Sunak told the Mail on Sunday.
As it stands, asylum seekers who arrive in the United Kingdom are frequently allowed to remain in the country while their case is heard.
According to the newspaper, a new law to address the issue will be introduced on Tuesday, after more than 45,000 people attempted the perilous crossing last year. According to official data, asylum applications to the United Kingdom are lower than the European Union average.
Last year, former Prime Minister Boris Johnson agreed to send tens of thousands of migrants to Rwanda, many of whom had traveled more than 4,000 miles (6,400 kilometers) from Afghanistan, Syria, or other war-torn countries.
The policy has been challenged in court after the first scheduled deportation flight was halted by a last-minute injunction issued by the European Court of Human Rights. It was ruled legal by London's High Court in December, but opponents have filed an appeal.
When asked on Sky News whether illegal immigrants would be barred from claiming asylum, government minister Chris Heaton-Harris said, "I believe so, yes."
"If people enter the country illegally, they will be deported or sent to places like Rwanda."
The Mail on Sunday reported that under the new law, asylum claims from people arriving by small boats will be deemed inadmissible and will be crushed and permanently barred from return.
"Our laws will be simple in spirit and practice: the only way into Britain will be a safe and legal way," Home Secretary Suella Braverman told the Sun newspaper on Sunday.
Heaton-Harris said it believed safer and more legal routes would be made available as part of the plan.