Hong Kong’s legislature on Wednesday passed an immigration bill that would allow authorities to ban people from entering or leaving the city, though the Security Bureau said that power would only target inbound flights.

The amendment bill to the Immigration Ordinance was passed 39-2 with the backing of pro-establishment lawmakers and will come into effect Aug. 1. Secretary for Security John Lee said the bill was necessary to stop the influx of illegal migrants who were abusing Hong Kong’s system of asylum applications.

Critics, however, have expressed fears that the law could be used to impose mainland China-style exit bans without oversight from the courts. The bill authorizes the Director of Immigration to decide whether “a passenger or a member of the crew of a carrier may or may not be carried” on a given vessel — a power the Hong Kong Bar Association previously described as “apparently unfettered.”

Lee on Wednesday said the bill’s critics were “using inaccurate comments to stoke up fears,” and said the arrangement would only target inbound flights. The details would be included in the regulations drafted by the bureau, he said.

Chow Hang-tung, vice chair of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, dismissed the government’s promise to narrow down the bill’s measures via subsidiary legislation.

“It is absurd and far from ideal to rely on unilateral guarantees from the government, which have no legal effect,” she said.

Bar Association Vice Chairperson Anita Yip criticized the bill for not limiting the powers of the Director of Immigration. According to the bill’s language, its measures could target any inbound or outbound traveler, she told Apple Daily.

“If it is such an important measure with a specific focus, in theory it should be included in the main legislation,” Yip said.

Hong Kong authorities did not consult the public about the immigration bill, said Figo Chan, convenor of the Civil Human Rights Front. “If the government puts forward a bill, the legislature will pass it without any explanation or justification to the public,” he said.

Chan said the government was “repeating its mistakes,” referring to the lack of consultation regarding the 2019 extradition bill that sparked citywide pro-democracy protests.

The non-governmental organization Justice Centre Hong Kong expressed disappointment in the bill’s passage. The bill weakens protections for asylum seekers and fails to protect those who are most vulnerable under the system, it said in a statement.

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