The Home Secretary has promised a series of “robust and clear steps” to strengthen border security and stem the flow of illegal migrants.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has announced that London is set to introduce a range of new measures aimed at tackling illegal immigration into the UK and strengthening the country's border security.
According to data released on Wednesday statementthe government plans to achieve this over the next six months “the highest level of expulsion of those who have no rights” in the country since 2018, including asylum seekers whose applications were rejected.
“We are taking decisive and clear steps to strengthen our border security and ensure that the rules are respected and enforced,” Cooper said.
The new measures include the immediate recruitment of up to 100 new intelligence and investigation specialists to the National Crime Agency (NCA) to “to suppress and destroy criminal gangs of smugglers and prevent dangerous boat crossings.”
The government also unveiled plans to increase detention capacity by building 290 new beds at Campsfield and Haslar immigration centres.
In addition, a new program will be launched to identify, investigate and eliminate illegal operations based on intelligence data. “unscrupulous employers who illegally hire people who have no right to work here.”
“A range of sanctions will be imposed on those who employ illegal workers, including financial penalty notices, business closure orders and potential prosecution,” the statement says. “Those caught working illegally and eligible for deportation will be detained until they can be deported as soon as possible.”
According to The Independent, critics have called the government's plans “a waste of taxpayers' money” claiming that they lack details and cannot recognize “the dignity and humanity of migrants” especially after the recent riots targeting hotels housing asylum seekers across the country.
The new plan means more than 14,000 deportations by the end of the year, the newspaper reported on Wednesday. However, that figure is far lower than the 45,000 who returned in 2010 under the previous Labour government, and fewer than the 19,000 migrants who arrived in Britain by crossing the Channel in small boats this year, The Independent also noted.
Official statistics show that, taking into account legal and illegal immigration, about 1.2 million people moved to the UK last year, 85% of whom were from outside the EU.
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