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Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has unveiled a tough new US-style immigration policy, pledging to deport 150,000 migrants annually who have no legal right to stay in the UK.
Her proposal includes establishing a “Removals Force”, inspired by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency — which expanded significantly under former President Donald Trump and has often been criticized for its aggressive tactics.
This new unit would replace the Home Office’s Immigration Enforcement division and receive double the current funding, rising from £820 million to £1.6 billion per year.
“Our mission will be to increase annual deportations from 34,000 to 150,000 — meaning at least 750,000 removals during a single parliamentary term,” Badenoch told attendees at the Conservative Party conference.
“They do not belong here. Many are committing crimes and harming people. I’m done with debating where they should go — they will go back to where they came from,” she declared.
Badenoch emphasized that she has spent the past year — despite poor poll results and major local election losses — developing realistic plans for government, insisting that her approach would yield results in time.
“Good things don’t happen overnight,” she said. “I was elected to do exactly this, and I believe Conservative members will stand by me. We’ve put in the hard work.”
She also admitted that previous Conservative governments made mistakes on immigration, with record numbers entering both legally and illegally, but accused Prime Minister Keir Starmer of failing to control the issue.
“At the start of this conference, I’m making it clear: we must stop illegal immigration and secure Britain’s borders,” Badenoch said.
Her plan also calls for withdrawing from the European Convention on Human Rights, arguing that it restricts the UK’s ability to deport failed asylum seekers.
The Conservatives’ seven-point strategy includes measures such as banning asylum claims from illegal entrants, repealing the Human Rights Act, and cutting off legal aid for immigration-related cases.
In response, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood dismissed Badenoch’s proposals as “lacking credibility,” criticizing the Conservatives’ poor record on deportations of failed asylum seekers.
