Leaked documents show that over 3,000 asylum seekers could be detained and deported from the UK every month starting next year.
The Conservative government wants to tackle record numbers of illegal and legal migration. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has come under increased pressure since lowering migration was one of the key promises of Brexit. In reality, the opposite has happened.
Starting in January, the Home Office plans to detain and remove over 3,000 individuals each month who have reportedly entered the country illegally, as disclosed by an anonymous source discussing undisclosed proposals. This information was initially reported by the Guardian.
The objective of this plan is to fulfil Sunak’s commitment to “stop the boats,” which is one of the five key promises he has asked voters to evaluate him on. Additionally, it aims to address the backlog in processing asylum-seekers, which by the end of March had reached a record high of 172,758 individuals awaiting a decision on their claim, as indicated by Home Office data.
This new deportation goal emerges amidst criticism faced by the government from both Conservative Members of Parliament and the opposition Labour Party regarding its unfulfilled manifesto pledge to reduce overall net migration—a measure encompassing only those considered to have entered the country legally.
According to the Office for National Statistics, net migration to the UK reached a record of 606,000 in 2022, a far cry from the “tens of thousands” target that the ruling Conservatives had consistently aimed for throughout the 2010s. That is more than double the level at the time of the 2019 general election, when the Tories abandoned that promise in favour of a simpler statement indicating a general decrease in numbers. Sunak has prioritised addressing the issue of unauthorised arrivals by boat rather than those who acquire visas.
The leaked documents, which primarily address the execution of the illegal migration bill, emphasise that ministers could potentially be subjected to debilitating legal consequences unless there is a significant rise in legal aid fees for lawyers providing guidance to refugees.
This is the first comprehensive insight into the magnitude of the challenge that Whitehall will encounter in implementing Home Secretary Suella Braverman’s bill, which is presently under consideration by the House of Lords. Up until now, the Home Office has declined to disclose the impact assessment of the bill.
The leaked documents, marked “urgent”, were prepared this week for Alex Chalk, the Lord Chancellor, the junior justice minister Lord Bellamy and the Ministry of Justice permanent secretary, Antonia Romeo.
Under the bill, individuals who enter the UK without permission will be ineligible to remain in order to seek asylum. Instead, they will be detained and subsequently deported either to their country of origin or to a third country like Rwanda.
Pro-migration organisations oppose the bill. Enver Solomon, the chief executive of the Refugee Council, said the documents show that the government, contrary to its claims, is preparing for mass deportations. “While the government has been rigorously sticking to the line that its new bill would ‘act as a deterrent’, this information shows that it is well aware that vulnerable people will keep arriving in the UK in search of protection.”
Bloomberg contributed to this article.
