Home Secretary Announces New Measures to Strengthen Border Security and Enforce Immigration Rules
21 August 2024
The Rt Hon Yvette Cooper MP, Home Secretary of the UK, has unveiled a series of new measures designed to fortify the nation’s border security, enforce immigration regulations, and boost returns of individuals with no legal right to remain in the country. The comprehensive plan includes the immediate recruitment of up to 100 new specialized intelligence and investigation officers at the National Crime Agency (NCA) to target, dismantle, and disrupt organized immigration crime networks.
In addition to the recruitment drive, the Home Secretary has announced a major surge in immigration enforcement and returns activity. This surge aims to ensure the adherence and enforcement of immigration and asylum rules, marking a concerted effort by the government to achieve the highest rate of removals of individuals with no legal right to be in the UK over the next six months – a level not witnessed since 2018. Furthermore, a new intelligence-driven illegal working program will be implemented to target, investigate, and dismantle unscrupulous employers who unlawfully hire individuals with no right to work in the UK.
Key components of the new measures include:
- Deployment of up to 100 new specialist intelligence and investigation officers to the National Crime Agency (NCA) to disrupt and dismantle criminal smuggling gangs and prevent dangerous boat crossings
- A significant surge in enforcement and returns flights, aiming to elevate removals to their highest level since 2018 and reverse the decline in enforcement witnessed in recent years
- Increased detention capacity, including the addition of 290 beds at Campsfield and Haslar Immigration Removal Centers
- Redeployment of staff to drive the increase in returns
- Imposition of sanctions against unscrupulous employers who illegally hire workers
The announcement also highlighted the 50% increase in the number of NCA officers stationed in Europol. These officers have been swiftly deployed to support European operations aimed at disrupting the activities of criminal smuggling gangs profiting from small boat crossings. Notably, the NCA is currently engaged in approximately 70 investigations targeting the most damaging criminal networks involved in people smuggling and trafficking and has collaborated with international partners to facilitate the seizure of approximately 400 boats and engines intended for use in channel crossings. Moreover, a range of sanctions, including financial penalty notices, business closure orders, and potential prosecutions, will be imposed on those found employing illegal workers.
Furthermore, individuals found working illegally and deemed eligible for removal will be detained, pending their prompt deportation. To support the heightened pace of removals, the government plans to increase detention spaces, including the reopening and addition of 290 beds across Immigration Removal Centers (IRCs) at Campsfield and Haslar. This expansion is geared towards ensuring additional capacity to facilitate higher levels of enforcement and returns, thereby maintaining the proper respect for immigration rules.
Building on the success of nine returns flights conducted in the last six weeks, along with the largest-ever chartered return flight, the government is reallocating personnel and resources to support further activity. Notably, staff are being redeployed to increase the removal of failed asylum seekers, with a specific focus on addressing the 40% drop observed since 2010. Additionally, enhanced digital capabilities will be deployed to ensure consistent contact throughout the process, preventing individuals with no legal right to remain in the UK from engaging in exploitative illegal working and ensuring their eventual return.
The enforcement surge, overseen by Bas Javid, the Home Office’s Director General for Immigration Enforcement, underlines the government’s commitment to reform the asylum system and bolster UK borders. This comprehensive approach prioritizes the firm, fair, and accurate implementation of all Immigration Enforcement processes, while also incorporating crucial lessons derived from the Windrush scandal.
Speaking about these initiatives, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper emphasized the government’s resolute efforts to enhance border security and ensure the enforcement of immigration regulations. She noted that the new Border Security Command is rapidly gearing up, with additional staff being urgently recruited and stationed across Europe to collaborate with European enforcement agencies in dismantling criminal smuggling networks orchestrating perilous boat crossings. By bolstering enforcement capacities and returns, the government aims to establish a more effectively controlled and managed system, replacing the past chaos that plagued the immigration system.
NCA Director General of Operations Rob Jones echoed this sentiment, emphasizing the NCA’s unwavering commitment to combat organized immigration crime. He highlighted the pivotal role that the additional officers will play, particularly in the context of approximately 70 ongoing investigations into the most harmful people smuggling and trafficking groups. Jones stressed the necessity of international cooperation in combating these dangerous and exploitative networks, underscoring the NCA’s robust collaboration with Europol and other law enforcement partners to disrupt and dismantle these criminal enterprises, whether operating in the UK or abroad.
This recent push for strengthened border security and enforcement follows the Prime Minister’s meeting at the European Political Community last month, where border security, joint efforts to combat people-smuggling, and the collective ambition to collaborate with other countries in delivering solutions were among the topics discussed alongside leaders from Italy, Albania, Germany, Malta, Denmark, Hungary, The Netherlands, and Slovakia.
21 August 2024
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