By Ebi Kesiena
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has unveiled a sweeping immigration crackdown aimed at detaining and deporting 150,000 illegal migrants each year, calling it the “toughest reforms Britain has ever seen.”
In a video shared via her X (formerly Twitter) account, Badenoch introduced what she termed the Radical Borders Plan, a proposal that would establish a new Removals Force modelled on the United States’ Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The agency, which would replace the Home Office’s current Immigration Enforcement unit, is expected to wield extensive powers, including the use of facial recognition technology without prior notice to track and deport undocumented migrants.
“My message is clear: if you’re here illegally, you will be detained and deported,” Badenoch declared.
The plan also proposes major legislative changes, including the repeal of the Human Rights Act, a ban on asylum claims by illegal entrants, and the UK’s withdrawal from the European Convention on Human Rights.
Under the proposals, visa sanctions would be applied to countries refusing to take back deported citizens, and all illegal arrivals would be removed within seven days.
A known hardliner on immigration, Badenoch criticised both Labour and past Conservative governments for years of failed migration policies.
“Today, I’m launching our Radical Borders Plan, the toughest reforms Britain has ever seen to border laws and operations.
“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,” she said.
Badenoch added that the new agency would “shut down the asylum hotel racket,” cut taxpayer costs, and rebuild public confidence in Britain’s borders.
“Only the Conservatives have a serious, credible plan to deliver stronger borders. If you come here illegally, you will be deported,” she stated.
During an appearance on BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Badenoch drew criticism for avoiding questions about the destinations of deported migrants.
“I’m tired of all of these irrelevant questions about where they should go,” she said. “They will go back to where they should be or another country, but they should not be here.”
Pressed further, she responded, “They will go back to where they came from.”
According to Sky News, the proposed Removals Force would be granted broader powers than the current enforcement unit, marking one of the most far-reaching shifts in British immigration policy in recent decades
