UK immigration policy is stuck in a race to the bottom – with human traffickers the only winners

In 2023, the previous Conservative government proposed their second migration bill in two years. There was justified, widespread outcry in response to this legislation, from charities working against modern slavery, migrant rights organisations, and the Labour Party front bench, then in opposition. Jess Phillips MP referred to the Illegal Migration Act 2023 as “a traffickers’ dream, a tool for their control“. Keir Starmer MP argued that it would cause significant harm to victims.

Time has passed, and the ball is in the now-governing Labour Party’s court. And yet the Border Security, Immigration and Asylum Bill that the government has just introduced continues this same basic system, which enforces restrictive immigration rules, fundamentally undermines migrants’ rights and facilitates their exploitation.

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The new bill fails to scrap measures that were introduced back in 2022 and 2023. Many surviving measures were subject to various criticisms, but the same people are now deciding to leave them in force. For example, it keeps the expanded immigration detention powers which were roundly criticised by civil society, and described as risking exponentially increasing the number of people detained, the duration of their detention and incidences of neglect, abuse and serious health problems in detention. From a workers’ rights perspective, if an employee complains about their boss, their employer could cancel their visa sponsorship and lead their former employee into detention just for speaking out.

At Focus on Labour Exploitation, we look particularly at exploitation in this context of labour and working; at its extremes that can involve trafficking and modern slavery. We have put out a briefing on this bill, pointing out that it woefully fails victims of exploitation by failing to address previous legislation which prevents identification as a victim of slavery or trafficking for some peoples. For instance, one retained section means that if the government claims they have ground for public order or bad faith concerns, they can strip someone of the rights that international law has granted them – even if they’re a victim of trafficking.

There is a cycle here. Before the Border Security, Immigration and Asylum Bill, there was the Illegal Migration Act 2023, and before that there was the Nationality and Borders Act 2022. All of these built on years of law and policy hostile to immigration, driving down migrant rights, such as in 2012 when we saw the deliberate creation of the ‘hostile environment’, policies designed to make life in the UK as difficult as possible for people without the correct leave to remain.

Similarly, the outrageous Rwanda plan that the Conservatives tried to bring in would have built on powers that were established by the last Labour government. Time and time again, we see new legislation come out, bringing new and evermore complex and restrictive measures with brutal implications. Some old measures might be scrapped here and there. But the majority will stay in place, in an ever-growing, ever-crueler migration system. As we race to the bottom, exploitation gains a stronger footing.

This exploitation takes place on a continuum. Without means to challenge exploitation early on, the conditions for more severe exploitation – including trafficking and modern slavery – are created. The Border Security, Immigration and Asylum Bill needs to change the immigration structures which allow exploitation to thrive. This is through ending the use of restrictive and short term visas, extending entitlements to residence permits and providing bridging visas so workers can support themselves while bringing claims.

Ending labour exploitation is not achieved by punishing its victims, but by stopping the conditions that create it in the first place. We must ensure access to decent work, create safe channels for reporting abuse and ensure that there are practical options in place for survivors, whatever their immigration status, when things go wrong.

There are so many organisations and people working on exploitation, modern slavery, trafficking, asylum seekers’ issues and migrant rights. It is essential that we do not allow the bar to lower. When we fought against the Nationality and Borders Act, we rightly criticised it for making the UK more dangerous for migrants. That should not now be the bar that we’re trying to revert back to; we have to aim higher than the threshold of precedent, and look to bigger, better ways forward. Nothing less than protecting victims and eliminating exploitation can suffice.

Lucila Granada is the chief executive officer at Focus on Labour Exploitation (FLEX), a charity working to prevent labour abuses and protect workers. FLEX is one of the Big Issue’s 2025 Changemakers. FLEX’s briefing on the Border Security, Immigration and Asylum Bill can be read here.

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