LONDON: United Kingdom Conservative Party leader, Kemi Badenoch, on Sunday unveiled a sweeping new immigration policy described as the toughest border reforms Britain has ever seen, outlining plans to detain and deport at least 150,000 illegal migrants every year.
The initiative, known as the Radical Borders Plan, marks one of the most aggressive crackdowns on illegal immigration in modern British history.
Badenoch said the policy would fundamentally overhaul the UK’s border enforcement framework, replacing the existing Home Office Immigration Enforcement with a new Removals Force, modelled after the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
In a video message posted on her X account, Badenoch declared: My message is clear if you’re here illegally, you will be detained and deported.
She added that the reforms are designed to restore control, order, and fairness to Britain’s immigration system.
According to details released alongside the announcement, the new Removals Force will be granted broad operational powers, including the use of facial recognition technology without prior warning to locate and remove undocumented migrants.
The force will also be tasked with dismantling what Badenoch called the asylum hotel racket, a system she claims wastes billions of pounds on temporary accommodation for migrants awaiting decisions.
The proposed policy will also ban asylum claims from individuals who enter the UK illegally, repeal the Human Rights Act, and withdraw Britain from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) a move that would have far-reaching implications for the country’s legal obligations under international law.
Badenoch accused both Labour and past Conservative administrations of “failing on immigration, citing record levels of illegal crossings, particularly via the English Channel. Successive governments have been weak.
Labour promised to smash the smuggling gangs but delivered over 50,000 illegal arrivals in a year. It’s pure weakness, she said.
In a fiery exchange on BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Badenoch dismissed questions about where deported migrants would be sent, responding: They will go back to where they should be or another country, but they should not be here.
Critics have described the plan as draconian, warning it could face strong opposition from human rights advocates, the judiciary, and the European Union.
Others argue that the logistics and costs of deporting 150,000 people annually are unrealistic.
Nonetheless, Badenoch has maintained that her plan represents a decisive step toward securing Britain’s borders and rebuilding public confidence in the immigration system.
Only the Conservatives have the courage and clarity to act. Britain will have a border that works and laws that mean what they say, she asserted.
If approved, the Radical Borders Plan would mark a historic shift in Britain’s immigration and human rights landscape, setting the stage for an intense political battle in the months ahead.
