U.K. government embraces “trafficker’s dream” policies, detaining child migrants

The U.K.’s Labour government is facing backlash over its proposed border security bill, which retains key elements of controversial policies of the previous Conservative government that restrict protections for trafficking survivors and allow for the detention of unaccompanied child migrants. Campaigners warn that these measures will embolden traffickers, increasing the risks of exploitation and modern slavery.

A U-turn on protections for trafficking survivors

Labour leaders, including Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, had previously condemned Conservative immigration policies as inhumane. However, under the newly proposed bill, Labour is set to uphold provisions that limit the ability of trafficking victims arriving by irregular routes—such as small boats crossing the Channel—to access protections under the National Referral Mechanism (NRM), the U.K.’s system for identifying and supporting survivors of modern slavery.

When introduced under the previous Conservative government, Labour MPs had fiercely criticized these measures, with some calling them a “traffickers’ charter” that would strengthen the control of smuggling networks over vulnerable migrants. Jess Phillips, now a minister in the Labour government, once described the policy as “a trafficker’s dream, a tool for their control.” Now, as Labour pushes forward with a nearly identical bill, campaigners say the party is engaging in “rank hypocrisy.”

“The only way to stop people smugglers is to create safe routes for people fleeing violence and persecution,” Green Party leader Carla Denyer told The Independent, adding that Labour’s bill “contains no measures to do so.”

The impact on trafficking and modern slavery

The restrictions on modern slavery protections will have far-reaching consequences, particularly for migrants arriving via irregular routes. Human rights advocates argue that by denying survivors the ability to seek protection, the U.K. is creating conditions where traffickers can exploit people with impunity.

The Independent reports,

Choosing to now keep this Act, or any part of it, to hammer rather than safeguard adults and children who’ve suffered the trauma of human trafficking, torture, and war would be rank hypocrisy,’ said Amnesty International refugee and migrant rights director Steve Valdez-Symonds.

Jakub Sobik of the Modern Slavery and Human Rights Policy and Evidence Centre warned that keeping these restrictions in place “risks increasing trafficking and modern slavery in the U.K., “reinforcing patterns of exploitation.”

In a bid to appear tough on migration, the Labour government has also kept limits on the number of people allowed to enter the U.K. via safe and legal routes. These restrictions, combined with the rollback of protections, leave trafficking survivors with nowhere to turn, further exposing them to forced labor and exploitation.

The case for safe migration pathways

At Freedom United, we’ve long warned that restrictive migration policies only serve to embolden traffickers and make people more vulnerable to exploitation. The rollback of modern slavery protections and the detention of children are alarming steps that put more people at risk of forced labor and abuse.

That’s why we continue to call on the U.K. government to uphold protections for trafficking survivors and ensure that immigration policies do not fuel exploitation. With the current government pressing ahead with harmful policies, now is the time to speak out.

Take action today—urge the U.K. government to reverse course and commit to safe migration pathways that prevent exploitation, not enable it.