16 December 2022
Tough Measures to Tackle Illegal Immigration

The United Kingdom has a proud history of supporting those in need of protection. Since 2015, the UK has resettled over 27,000 refugees through safe and legal routes directly from areas of conflict and instability.  This includes individuals from Hong Kong, Syria, Afghanistan, and Ukraine.

Few episodes can better demonstrate British compassion for those fleeing war and persecution than the Homes for Ukraine programme which has seen 145,000 Ukrainians housed with families up and down the country, including around 550 in Shropshire.

The criminal gangs who exploit migrants and deal in the despicable human trafficking trade, putting lives at risk in dangerous dinghies across the channel, make a mockery of this compassion and do a disservice to those who migrate to the UK through proper legal routes.

Over 40,000 people have illegally crossed the Channel in small boats this year. Many originate from safe countries and travel through safe countries. That is unfair on those who come here legally, unfair on those who have a genuine asylum claim, and unfair on the British taxpayer who pay for the services they require.

I agree with the Prime Minister when he said on Tuesday, "It is not cruel or unkind to want to break the stranglehold of criminal gangs who trade in human misery... enough is enough”.

So, I strongly welcome new measures announced this week which will go much further to tackle the issue of illegal migration.

The Government have reached a new agreement with Albania so that the vast majority of over 10,000 single male Albanian claimants, who have arrived on small boats across the Channel, can be removed on weekly flights until all Albanians in our backlog are sent home. Albania is a fundamentally safe country, so this is a fair approach.

A new, permanent, unified Small Boats Operational Command has been announced in the Channel with 700 new staff that will bring together civilian, military and crime partners to detect and intercept small boats.

Tougher immigration enforcement will be introduced, boosted by 200 new staff and better data sharing to crack down on illegal migrants and carry out 50% more raids on those who exploit migrants to work illegally in the UK.

Much attention has been rightly paid to the £5.6 million daily cost of housing asylum seekers in hotels, including in market towns like Shrewsbury. The Prime Minister has announced cheaper accommodation sites including former student accommodation and disused holiday parks, halving the current cost and saving the taxpayer £1 billion.

Finally, Rishi Sunak made a commitment to clear the initial asylum backlog by 2023 by doubling the number of caseworkers and radically streamlining the process.

Our deepening cooperation with France, placing border forces on French beaches for the first time, and plans to pursue asylum processing in safe countries like Rwanda coupled with the measures announced on Tuesday will make a significant difference in tackling this tragic issue.