A British parliamentary committee on Thursday criticized government plans to deter migrants from trying to reach Britain in small boats.

The lawmakers said the measures will endanger lives without stopping dangerous journeys like the one that killed 27 people last week.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has proposed legislation that would give authorities patrolling the English Channel the power to turn away boats carrying migrants. The bill would also make it more difficult for people who enter the country illegally to claim asylum and allow asylum-seekers to be screened abroad.

But the Joint Committee on Human Rights, a cross-party panel that includes members from both houses of Parliament, said Wednesday that “a policy of pushbacks” would probably conflict with international human rights law and maritime law.

The debate comes less than a week after 27 people died on Nov. 24 when an overcrowded inflatable boat sank in the waters between Britain and France. A survivor says the migrants made emergency calls to both British and French authorities, but both sides told them to call the other.