Labour announces new unit to fast-track deportations of failed asylum seekers and foreign criminals
17 March 2024, 22:30
Labour will overhaul the asylum system with a new 'returns and enforcement unit' as the party looks to get tough on illegal immigration.
The unit will seek to fast-track removals of failed asylum seekers and foreign criminals if Labour should win the next general election.
Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper accused the Tories of overseeing "chaos, collapsing confidence and calamitous costs" in the immigration and asylum system which she promised to overhaul.
It will work to identify, shut down and punish workplaces that are illegally employing and exploiting asylum seekers and co-operate with the police on arresting traffickers of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children from hotels.
Officers from the unit will be posted to foreign countries to negotiate more returns agreements.
The unit will be backed with a new fast-track asylum casework system for safe countries so arrivals can be processed and returned within weeks.
Labour said the team will be funded through savings made from clearing the asylum backlog and ending the use of hotels to house migrants, currently costing taxpayers £8 million a day.
Ms Cooper said: "The Conservatives have totally lost their grip on our borders and let our asylum system descend into chaos.
"Without firm, fair enforcement of the rules, the system ends up in chaos, costs soar, confidence collapses and exploitation grows.
"The 40% drop in returns of failed asylum cases since 2010 undermines the credibility of the entire system.
"That's why Labour will set up a new returns-and-enforcement unit to speed up the system and make sure rules are respected."
The Government hopes to deter people from arriving in the UK on small boats across the English Channel through its stalled Rwanda deportation scheme.
Parliament is currently considering the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill, which seeks to compel judges to regard the east African country as safe in a bid to clear the way to send some asylum seekers on a one-way flight there.
The Commons will on Monday get a chance to debate and vote on amendments passed by the House of Lords.
Illegal migration minister Michael Tomlinson said: "Labour cannot say how they would stop the boats, because they do not have a plan.
"If they were serious about stopping the boats, they would back our Rwanda plan this week. Instead, they have voted against our tougher measures 96 times.
"Labour MPs tried to stop the deportation of dangerous foreign criminals, and they have promised to scrap our deterrent measures even once they're up and running.
"We are sticking to our plan that is working, with Channel crossings down by over a third last year. We are also pressing ahead with our Rwanda legislation this week to deter illegal migration and stop the boats.
"Labour have promised to strike a deal with the EU to open the doors to even more illegal migrants, taking us straight back to square one."