LONDON — Britain’s government said it will open safe, legal routes for eligible refugees, while also changing human rights laws to make it easier to deport people who are in the country illegally. <\/p>\n
The new routes will allow community groups, universities and employers to sponsor refugees to come to the U.K. Authorities said the plan was inspired by a similar \u201ccommunity sponsorship\u201d program in Canada that has settled some 400,000 people in the country since 1979.<\/p>\n
\u201cI will open new legal routes for genuine refugees, while closing loopholes that have been too often abused,\u201d Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said Friday.<\/p>\n
At the same time, Mahmood said, a new immigration law will seek to prevent \u201cabuse\u201d of human rights laws and crack down on \u201cvexatious claims.\u201d It will tighten the definition of family so that it is restricted to immediate family members only.<\/p>\n
Critics have said the European Convention on Human Rights is often cited to prevent the deportation of people who have no right to stay in the U.K. <\/p>\n
The announcement came as Mahmood faces questions about whether she will remain in her post once Prime Minister Keir Starmer leaves office.<\/p>\n
Starmer announced his plan to resign<\/a> on Monday after two years in office marked by missteps and judgment errors that eroded his standing with his party and the public. He will be out of office within weeks once the governing Labour Party picks a new leader.<\/p>\n