‘I’ll deport 150,000 illegal migrants each year’ – Badenoch

Leader of the UK’s Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch has unveiled a new immigration plan aimed at deporting 150,000 illegal migrants every year, describing it as the “toughest reforms Britain has ever seen.”

In a video message posted on her X (formerly Twitter) account on Sunday, Badenoch said the Radical Borders Plan would introduce a new Removals Force, modelled after the United States’ Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), to overhaul the UK’s border enforcement system.

As a caption to the video, she wrote: “My message is clear: if you’re here illegally, you will be detained and deported. Our new Removals Force, modelled on US ICE, will deport 150,000 illegal migrants each year.”

Badenoch, who has consistently positioned herself as a hardliner on immigration, criticised both Conservative and Labour governments for their handling of the migration crisis.

“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,” Badenoch said.

According to the proposed plan, asylum claims from illegal entrants will be banned, the Human Rights Act repealed, and the UK will withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

Badenoch said all illegal arrivals would be deported within a week, with legal barriers to mass deportations removed and visa sanctions imposed on countries that refuse to repatriate their citizens.

She added that the new enforcement agency would also “shut down the asylum hotel racket,” save taxpayers billions of pounds, and restore public trust 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,” Badenoch concluded.