UK Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has announced what she calls the “toughest reforms Britain has ever seen” in immigration policy, unveiling a sweeping new border strategy aimed at detaining and deporting 150,000 illegal migrants each year.
In a video message posted Sunday on her X account, Badenoch introduced the Radical Borders Plan, which includes the creation of a new Removals Force—modeled after the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)—to replace the existing Home Office Immigration Enforcement unit.
“My message is clear: if you’re here illegally, you will be detained and deported,” she said in the video caption.
A vocal hardliner on immigration, Badenoch sharply criticised both Labour and previous Conservative governments for failing to tackle illegal migration. She accused Labour of overseeing record levels of illegal crossings, with over 50,000 arrivals in a year, and wasting billions on asylum hotel accommodations.
“Successive governments have failed on immigration,” she said. “It’s pure weakness. Britain needs a serious, credible plan—and the backbone to deliver it.”
Under the proposed plan, all illegal entrants would be detained and deported within a week. Asylum claims from such individuals would be banned entirely. The plan also includes repealing the Human Rights Act and withdrawing the UK from the European Convention on Human Rights. Visa sanctions would be imposed on countries that refuse to accept deported nationals. The Removals Force would be authorised to use facial recognition technology without prior notice to identify undocumented migrants. Badenoch also vowed to shut down the asylum hotel system, claiming it would save taxpayers billions and restore public confidence in border security.
“Only the Conservatives have a serious, credible plan to deliver stronger borders,” she asserted. “If you come here illegally, you will be deported.”
However, Badenoch came under fire during an appearance on BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg for sidestepping questions about where deported migrants would be sent.
“I’m tired of all of these irrelevant questions about where they should go,” she responded. “They will go back to where they should be—or another country—but they should not be here.” Pressed further, she simply added: “They will go back to where they came from.”
According to Sky News, the proposed Removals Force would be granted sweeping powers, including real-time facial recognition, and would operate independently of current Home Office structures.
If implemented, the plan would mark one of the most radical overhauls of UK immigration policy in decades—setting the stage for a fierce political and legal battle over border control, asylum rights, and international human rights commitments.
