UK announces crackdown on illegal immigration

Home Secretary has promised a raft of “strong and clear steps” to boost border security and curb influx of undocumented migrants

London is set to introduce a series of new measures aimed at tackling illegal immigration into the UK and at strengthening the country’s border security, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has announced.

According to a Wednesday statement, over the next six months the government plans to achieve the “highest rate of removals of those with no right” to be in the country since 2018, including asylum seekers whose applications have failed.

“We are taking strong and clear steps to boost our border security and ensure the rules are respected and enforced,” Cooper stated.

The new measures include the immediate recruitment of up to 100 new specialist intelligence and investigation officers at the National Crime Agency (NCA) to “disrupt and smash criminal smuggling gangs and prevent dangerous boat crossings.”

The government also revealed plans to increase its detention capacity, with 290 new beds at the Campsfield and Haslar Immigration Removal Centres.

In addition, a new intelligence-driven illegal working program will be rolled out to target, investigate and take down “unscrupulous employers who illegally employ those with no right to work here.”

“A range of sanctions, including financial penalty notices, business closure orders and potential prosecution, will be taken against those employing illegal workers,” the statement reads. “Those caught working illegally and eligible for removal will be detained, pending their swift removal.” 

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According to The Independent, critics have called the government plans “a waste of taxpayer money,” claiming that they lack detail and fail to recognize “the dignity and humanity of migrants,” particularly in the wake of recent riots that targeted hotels housing asylum seekers across the country.

The new plan means more than 14,000 deportations by the end of the year, the newspaper wrote on Wednesday. However, the figure is far lower than the 45,000 returned in 2010 under the former Labor government and less than the 19,000 migrants who have arrived in Britain by crossing the Channel in small boats so far this year, The Independent also noted.

Official statistics show that, with legal and illegal immigration combined, some 1.2 million people moved to the UK last year, 85% of them from outside the EU.