UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer addresses immigration enforcement policies amid rising concerns over illegal crossings (AP)
Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister of the UK, sent a very stern warning to immigrants on Monday that anyone entering the country illegally would be arrested and deported soon after. In a series of posts on social media platform X, Starmer said it was a thing of the past to allow anyone to break into the UK through illegal means.
“If you come to this country illegally, you will face detention and return,” he exclaimed. The Prime Minister went on to state that foreign nationals committing any crime in the UK would also be promptly deported.
Starmer condemned foreign lawbreakers who have lived in the UK immigration system for a long time, often staying there for months or years while appealing against their deportation.
“That ends now,” he insisted: therefore, lawbreakers will be deported in the earliest possible occasion. This hardline attitude is part of a larger effort by his government to more effectively control immigration while underscoring that criminal behavior on behalf of immigrants will land them in serious trouble.
ALSO READ: UK Widens ‘Deport First, Appeal Later’ Policy to 23 Countries
Starmer had previously criticized illegal workers attempting to escape the immigration rules, saying their actions are unfair to law-abiding residents. He disclosed that hundreds of delivery riders working illegally have already been arrested, with the government spending 5 million pounds to enhance immigration enforcement actions.
Starmer's zero-tolerance policy extends to those crossing the English Channel on small boats, and the Prime Minister reiterated that such migrants would be detained and returned.
The UK has recently entered into a "one in, one out" returns treaty with France, which provides for the detention of migrants arriving by boat while arrangements for their return are made. Starmer stressed that this partnership's aim was to break down the criminal networks profiting from illegal migration, which he described as an organized gang-run business endangering life.
ALSO READ: UK Toy Giant ‘The Entertainer’ Becomes Employee-Owned After 44 Years
Supporting this initiative, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper highlighted the difficulties in dismantling entrenched criminal groups but emphasized the relevance of recent detentions.
It is set in stone that Starmer's administration will secure the borders of Britain, with greater enforcement, after this landmark agreement arising from the The Channel Trafficking Initiative.
"No gimmick, just result," he vowed to press on with vigorous measures aimed at curbing illegal entry and protecting national security. This clearly indicates a shift towards a stricter immigration policy and a harder position against lawbreakers.
ALSO READ: Homelessness: The Immigration Crisis That Keeps On Giving..
