United Kingdom Conservative Party leader, Kemi Badenoch, has announced a sweeping immigration overhaul aimed at detaining and deporting 150,000 illegal migrants each year, describing it as the “toughest reforms Britain has ever seen.”
In a video message shared on Sunday via her X (formerly Twitter) account, Badenoch detailed what she called the Radical Borders Plan — a comprehensive policy proposal to strengthen border enforcement and curb illegal migration.
Central to the plan is the creation of a new Removals Force, modelled after the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The new agency would replace the existing Home Office Immigration Enforcement unit and be granted expanded powers, including the use of facial recognition technology without prior notice to locate and remove undocumented migrants.
“My message is clear: if you’re here illegally, you will be detained and deported,” Badenoch declared.
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The proposed measures include repealing the Human Rights Act, banning asylum applications from individuals who enter the country illegally, and withdrawing the UK from the European Convention on Human Rights.
Additionally, visa sanctions would be imposed on countries that refuse to accept deported citizens, while illegal arrivals would be deported within a week.
Badenoch, known for her hardline stance on immigration, blamed both Labour and past Conservative administrations for what she described as “years of failure” in controlling illegal migration.
“Today, I’m launching our Radical Borders Plan, the toughest reforms Britain has ever seen to border laws and operations,” she said.
“Successive governments have failed on immigration. Labour promised to smash the gangs. Instead, in just a year, they delivered record small boat crossings, over 50,000 illegal arrivals, 32,000 people in asylum hotels, billions wasted. It’s pure weakness. Britain needs a serious, credible plan and the backbone to deliver it.”
According to Badenoch, the new enforcement unit would “shut down the asylum hotel racket,” reduce costs for taxpayers, and restore public confidence in border control.
“Only the Conservatives have a serious, credible plan to deliver stronger borders. If you come here illegally, you will be deported,” she added.
During an interview on BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Badenoch faced questions about where deported migrants would be sent.
She dismissed such inquiries, saying, “I’m tired of all of these irrelevant questions about where they should go. They will go back to where they should be or another country, but they should not be here.” When pressed further, she reiterated, “They will go back to where they came from.”
A report by Sky News noted that the proposed Removals Force would have greater powers than the current immigration enforcement unit, marking one of the most radical shifts in British immigration policy in recent decades.
