Kemi Badenoch, leader of the UK Conservative Party, has announced what she described as the “toughest reforms Britain has ever seen” on immigration, unveiling a sweeping new border strategy that targets the detention and deportation of 150,000 undocumented migrants each year.
In a video posted on her X account on Sunday, Badenoch introduced the Radical Borders Plan, which includes the creation of a new Removals Force modeled on the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. The new body would replace the existing Home Office Immigration Enforcement unit and be granted expanded powers, such as using facial recognition technology without notice to identify and deport migrants.
“My message is clear: if you’re here illegally, you will be detained and deported,” Badenoch declared in her announcement.
Positioning herself as a hardliner on immigration, she sharply criticized both Conservative and Labour governments for their handling of the migration crisis. She accused Labour of presiding over record levels of illegal crossings and wasting public funds on asylum accommodations.
“Successive governments have failed on immigration,” she said. “Labour promised to smash the gangs, but in just a year we’ve seen record small boat crossings, over 50,000 illegal arrivals, 32,000 people in asylum hotels, and billions wasted. It’s pure weakness. Britain needs a serious, credible plan and the backbone to deliver it.”
Key measures under the plan include banning asylum claims from illegal entrants, repealing the Human Rights Act, and withdrawing from the European Convention on Human Rights. Badenoch said all illegal arrivals would be deported within a week, with legal hurdles to mass removals eliminated and visa sanctions imposed on countries refusing to accept their citizens.
She also pledged that the new agency would dismantle the “asylum hotel racket,” save taxpayers billions, and restore public trust in the UK’s borders.
“Only the Conservatives have a serious, credible plan to deliver stronger borders. If you come here illegally, you will be deported,” she insisted.
However, Badenoch drew criticism during an appearance on BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg for sidestepping questions about where deported migrants would be sent. “They will go back to where they should be or another country, but they should not be here,” she said, later adding, “They will go back to where they came from.”
If approved, Badenoch’s Radical Borders Plan would mark one of the most far-reaching changes to UK immigration policy in decades, intensifying the political debate over border control and human rights protections.
