Callous Suella Braverman has announced her plans to lock up asylum seekers who arrive by small boats - but was met with laughter as she ducked explaining whether it's legal.
The Home Secretary announced that those who cross the Channel in this way will be detained without bail or judicial review before being deported.
She said that the government would announce safe and legal routes for people fleeing persecution - but only AFTER the crossings stop.
Critics say the plans are "the epitome of cruelty" targeting people who have "suffered terribly", while Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper dismissed it as "a con that risks making the chaos worse".
Describing the government's heavily-criticised approach as "novel", Ms Braverman was derided as she said she would not "make a definitive statement" over its compatibility with international law.
Describing the government's heavily-criticised approach as "novel", she said her Illegal Migration Bill will prevent those who arrive in the UK from using Modern Slavery laws to prevent their removal.
Only children, those medically unfit to fly and "at risk of serious and irreversible harm" in the country they're deported to will be allowed to stay in the UK.
People face being sent to their homeland or a "safe third country" such as Rwanda, the Home Secretary announced.
After years of Tory failure, taxpayers are shelling out around £6 million a day for accommodation due to the size of the backlog.
Shadow Home Secretary Ms Cooper said: "Is is deeply damaging chaos. There's no point in ministers trying to blame anyone else for it, they've been in power for 13 years.
"The asylum system is broken and they broke it."
Ms Cooper said the government was offering up "slogans and not solutions".
Ms Braverman said: "Our approach is robust and novel, which is why we can't make a definitive statement of compatibility under... the Human Rights Act.
"Of course the UK will always seek to uphold international law and I am confident that this Bill is compatible with international law."
She told the Commons that her bill will enables detention of illegal arrivals, without bail or judicial review within the first 28 days of detention, until they can be removed.
The Home Secretary said: "It puts a duty on the Home Secretary to remove illegal entrants and will radically narrow the number of challenges and appeals that can suspend removal.
"Only those under 18, medically unfit to fly, or at real risk of serious and irreversible harm – an exceedingly high bar - in the country we are removing them to, will be able to delay their removal. Any other claims will be heard remotely, after removal."
He said failure to act would "betray the will of the people".
A report by the cross-party Home Affairs Committee has called on the government to deal with the backlog, which has topped 160,000, expand safe and legal routes and negotiate a returns policy with the EU.
The proposals have sparked a huge outcry.
Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker tweeted: "Good heavens, this is beyond awful."
Sonya Sceats, Chief Executive at Freedom from Torture said: “How we treat refugees is about who we are as a country. We should be treating people fleeing torture and persecution with care and compassion, not incarcerating and trading them for cash with Rwanda or any other state.
"This attempted refugee ban is the epitome of cruelty against men, women, and children who have already suffered terribly at the hands of torturing regimes in countries like Afghanistan, Iran, and Syria.
"If passed, this ban would be one of the most draconian anti-refugee laws on the planet and would drive a coach and horses through international rules that Britain helped to agree after the Holocaust to protect people fleeing persecution."
And Katy Chakrabortty, head of policy and advocacy at Oxfam GB, said: “The UK cannot hope to legislate away the reasons that drive people to our shores in search of safety. In trying to do so they not only create more cruelty and misery, but risk breaching international refugee, humanitarian and human rights law.
“No one wants to see families continue to risk their lives crossing the freezing channel in small boats. But instead of implementing this cruel bill, the UK should provide more safe and legal routes for people needing protection."
Speaking at a No10 press conference later on Tuesday, Rishi Sunak said he was "up for the fight" in the courts over the legislation.
"Of course we're up for the fight. I wouldn't be standing here if I wasn't. But we're confident we'll win".
He said there is "absolutely nothing improper or unprecedented" about pursuing Bills with a warning that they may not be compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
"We believe we are acting in compliance with international law, in compliance with the ECHR, and if challenged, as you may well be right, we've seen in these matters we do get challenged, we will fight that hard because we believe we're doing the right thing and it is compliant with our obligations," he added.
