Raft of radical changes to fix a ‘broken’ system
KEY measures in the immigration plan include...
Creating a crossgovernment Small Boats Taskforce, which enlists military expertise, the National Crime Agency and intelligence services, to fight smuggling gangs and prevent small boat crossings.
Pressing ahead with plans to send asylum seekers to Rwanda and negotiating similar deals with other countries.
Increasing co-operation with France to stop small boats setting out to cross the Channel. Mr Sunak says he will seek an urgent meeting with the French president upon becoming Prime Minister.
Pressuring other countries to take back failed asylum seekers or foreign national offenders by making aid, trade and visa arrangements conditional on their willingness to co-operate.
Ending the practice of housing illegal migrants in expensive hotels by placing them in other accommodation, including cruise ships.
Allowing Parliament to set an annual cap on the number of refugees accepted into the UK each year. Priority will be given to people fleeing imminent peril, rather than those passing through multiple safe countries on their way to the UK.
Strengthening the way immigration rules are enforced by introducing tougher penalties for businesses that fail to verify the immigration status of employees or use illegal labour, and increasing funding for the Home Office’s Immigration Enforcement Department so it can carry out more raids and site visits.
Making it harder to qualify for asylum in the UK by using the stricter definition of a refugee in the United Nations Refugee Convention instead of the wider definition used by the European Convention on Human Rights. Authorities will gain new powers to detain, tag and monitor illegal migrants, and remove those with no right to remain.
Ensuring asylum claims are dealt with faster by recruiting more case workers, using technology and setting a target that 80 per cent of claims should be resolved within six months.
Commissioning work to look at fundamental reforms of the Home Office and Border Force.