LEADER of the UK Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch, on Sunday unveiled what she called the “toughest immigration reforms in British history,” announcing a sweeping new border security strategy that would see up to 150,000 illegal migrants detained and deported every year.
In a video message posted on her official X (formerly Twitter) handle seen by News Point Nigeria, Badenoch unveiled the Radical Borders Plan, which she described as a comprehensive blueprint to “take back control” of Britain’s borders and end what she termed the “asylum hotel racket” draining public resources.
“My message is clear: if you’re here illegally, you will be detained and deported,” she declared in a stern tone.
Under the proposed plan, Badenoch said her government would establish a new Removals Force, a specialist border enforcement agency modelled after the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), to replace the Home Office’s current Immigration Enforcement unit.
The new agency would be granted sweeping powers, including the use of facial recognition technology without prior notice, to identify and expel undocumented migrants more swiftly.
In her announcement, Badenoch criticised both Labour and previous Conservative administrations, accusing them of “decades of weakness” in tackling illegal migration and border control.
“Successive governments have failed on immigration. Labour promised to smash the gangs. Instead, in just one year, they delivered record small boat crossings, over 50,000 illegal arrivals, 32,000 people in asylum hotels, and billions wasted,” she said.
“It’s pure weakness. Britain needs a serious, credible plan and the backbone to deliver it.”
She vowed that, if implemented, the Radical Borders Plan would ban asylum claims from all illegal entrants, repeal the Human Rights Act, and see the UK withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), a move that would fundamentally reshape Britain’s postwar legal obligations on refugee protection.
The plan proposes that all illegal entrants be deported within one week of detention, while countries that refuse to repatriate their citizens would face visa restrictions and economic sanctions.
Badenoch said the measures would “restore fairness, deter unlawful migration, and save taxpayers billions of pounds currently wasted on asylum accommodations.”
“We will shut down the asylum hotel racket and restore public trust in Britain’s borders,” she added.
“Only the Conservatives have a serious, credible plan to deliver stronger borders. If you come here illegally, you will be deported.”
However, Badenoch’s plan immediately sparked backlash from human rights advocates, opposition lawmakers, and migration experts, who warned that the proposals could breach international obligations and strain diplomatic ties with repatriation countries.
During an appearance on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Badenoch was pressed on where deported migrants would be sent. She curtly dismissed the question:
“I’m tired 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 simply added: “They will go back to where they came from.”
According to Sky News, Badenoch’s proposed Removals Force would mark a complete overhaul of the Home Office’s border enforcement system and could redefine Britain’s global stance on immigration control.