London, June 6 : Calling the Illegal Migration Bill "cruel" and "unworkable", London Mayor Sadiq Khan told the UK's Home Secretary Suella Braverman that more than 50,000 people will be at risk of homelessness in the British capital if it becomes a law.

Proposals under the Illegal Migration Bill, introduced in Parliament this year, would stop people entering the country in unauthorised boats across the English Channel.  In addition, they will be detained and then promptly removed -- either to their home country or to a safe third country.  While Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has sought to frame the bill as a move to stop traffickers from taking advantage of prospective immigrants, the Mayor warned that it could "end up handing power to human traffickers, undermine crucial child protections, and leave people in immigration limbo, rather than have their requests for sanctuary heard".  "It is clear that the current asylum system is broken and this bill will serve only to deepen the challenge, which could result in 50,000 people over the next three years left in London, unable to access support, work or legitimate avenues to fend for themselves," Khan wrote to Braverman.  Of those arriving illegally via small boats, Indians form a sizable chunk with the country recently witnessing a spike in their numbers.