Britain Adopts New Measures to Combat Illegal Immigration
The British government announced the adoption of new measures to combat illegal immigration to the country.
On Wednesday, August 21, the British government introduced new measures to deal with migrants who illegally cross the English Channel in small boats from France.
One of these important measures is the hiring of 100 specialized intelligence and investigative officers by the National Crime Agency (NCA), whose task is to combat and dismantle smuggling gangs operating across the English Channel. The British government also announced that employers who hire migrants without work permits will be punished.
Yvette Cooper, Britain’s Home Secretary, said in a statement: “We are taking strong and clear steps to strengthen our border security and ensure compliance and enforcement of the law.” She emphasized the deportation of more asylum seekers whose applications have been rejected over the past 5 years and added that deportation levels should reach at least 14,500 within the next 6 months.
According to the Daily Telegraph report, the British government plans 300 new spaces in two detention centers in the towns of Campsfield in Kidlington and Haslar in Gosport for illegal migrants. It should be noted that the Campsfield detention facility, which opened in 1993, was closed in 2019 due to allegations of mistreatment of detainees; however, Yvette Cooper’s confirmation of its reopening sparked anger among local elected officials and human rights organizations.
Callum Miller, a Labour Party representative, responded to the reopening of the detention center by posting on the X network: “This action has a dark past. It is shocking that one of the first actions of this government is to reopen this detention center without local consultation.”
The British government, in addition to currently having 2,300 spaces in illegal migrant detention centers, is exploring new ways in case their numbers increase. According to statements from Britain’s Home Office, 300 officers have also been appointed to review thousands of asylum cases and rejected returns, including forced and voluntary returns.
These measures were announced one week after violent anti-immigrant riots in the country that followed the killing of three young girls in Southport in late July. Hundreds of British people, supported by far-right groups, attacked hotels where asylum seekers were staying and raided migrant trading centers and mosques. According to government reports, over 1,000 people were arrested following these attacks.
The Keir Starmer government, while criticizing the deportation of asylum seekers to Rwanda by the Rishi Sunak government, cancelled this project and announced that asylum seekers will not be sent to Rwanda but is considering other ways to deport them.
