Detain, detect and deport all illegal immigrants

We believe our country is facing a crisis with regards to illegal immigration and it is time to introduce a detect, detain and deport policy.

We think people have had enough of the soft pedalling by successive governments and this is the only way to deal with this crisis.

The Government is clear that individuals who have no legal basis to remain in the United Kingdom should leave and we remain resolute in our commitment to increasing returns, as set out in our asylum and returns policy statement on ‘Restoring Order and Control over the Immigration System’ (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/asylum-and-returns-policy-statement). This statement underpins the Government’s objectives and system-wide efforts to doing so, outlining our reforms to reduce arrivals, increase returns, and restore control, fairness and public confidence.

The Government is bringing the full force of our laws to bear on these issues. Those with no right to be in the UK, including foreign criminals, will be returned as quickly as possible, and through effective enforcement action in instances where individuals refuse to depart voluntarily.

A systematic programme of work is focused on delivering this major surge in immigration enforcement and returns activity. Home Office (Immigration Enforcement) colleagues are dedicated to making arrests, driving through decisions on individual cases, detaining people where appropriate and getting them onto returns flights in the highest numbers seen for many years.

To achieve these ambitions, Immigration Enforcement's budget will have nearly doubled by 2028/29 when compared to 2023/24, enabling Immigration Enforcement to invest further in their capacity, people and technology. Reforms are already under way to increase the volume, speed and efficiency of returns. This includes strengthening arrangements through new and expanded international co-operation routes and transforming voluntary returns.

These significant efforts are already having a demonstrable impact. The return of foreign criminals, immigration offenders and individuals illegally in the UK has reached the highest level since 2016 – with more than 80,000 returned since the general election to July 2026. The two years since the election have seen returns increase by 52% when compared to the two years directly before the 2024 election, as the Government restores order at the border and fairness to the migration system.

Immigration enforcement activity is at record levels. As an example, between 1 January and 30 June 2026, 7,270 illegal working visits were carried out resulting in 4,756 arrests, a 31% increase in visits and a 20% increase in arrests compared to the same period in 2025, making this the most successful start to a year on record for illegal working enforcement activity. Increased enforcement supported by a range of sanctions, including civil penalties, business closure orders and potential prosecution, demonstrates that the Home Office is taking effective action against those employing illegal workers.

The Home Office is expanding immigration detention capacity, increasing voluntary and family returns, making greater use of technology to support enforcement and investigation activity, enhancing contact management and introducing digital reporting for those in the community, and maximising early removal powers for foreign national offenders – doing so with respect, following internal safeguards and guidance, and applying the learning from Windrush.

The Government is also pursuing new legislation that will more swiftly return those here illegally. Through the Immigration and Asylum Bill, the Government will overhaul the immigration appeals process, providing a new Independent Appeals Authority to take through cases more quickly and work through the backlog. It will also bring about important reforms to the application of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights and the Modern Slavery regime, providing robust legal protections while tackling abuses of human rights law.

More broadly, the Government intends to stop those attempting to enter the UK by clandestine means and disrupt organised criminal networks. The Government is investing heavily in upstream disruption, working with international partners to target organised immigration crime long before it reaches our borders. Through intelligence sharing, joint investigations and operational co-operation we are identifying routes, disrupting logistics, targeting criminal finances, and dismantling the networks that profit from exploiting vulnerable people.

While challenges can frustrate removal efforts for those individuals who are already in the UK illegally, the Government remains resolute in its commitment to overcoming these obstacles and increasing returns.

Home Office