Labour asylum blitz ignores lessons of UK riots and could harm migrants, experts say

A wave of new Labour policies on immigration and asylum have been met with anger by campaigners and experts, who say they risk ignoring the lessons of recent far-right riots across the UK.

Home secretary Yvette Cooper has announced details of the government’s plans to increase deportations and “smash the gangs” by hiring 100 new investigators.

However the plans, including the expansion of immigration detention, sparked warnings that the government is seeking tough-sounding rhetoric at the expense of real solutions.

What are Labour’s new immigration and asylum policies?

Billed as an drive to increase the UK’s border security, Cooper announced the recruitment of 100 new “specialist intelligence and investigation officers” to the National Crime Agency. These will “disrupt and smash criminal smuggling gangs and prevent dangerous boat crossings”, the Home Office said.

In an attempt to increase the number of failed asylum seekers who are removed from the country, Labour will increase immigration detention capacity, including an extra 290 beds at Haslar and Campsfield immigration removal centres. The government will also redeploy staff to “drive this increase in returns”, and increase the number of enforcement and returns charter flights.

The government will also target employers who hire workers illegally with a new range of sanctions – ranging from fines to business closure orders and prosecution. Illegal workers also face deportation under the crackdown.

“We are taking strong and clear steps to boost our border security and ensure the rules are respected and enforced,” Cooper said.

“By increasing enforcement capabilities and returns, we will establish a system that is better controlled and managed, in place of the chaos that has blighted the system for far too long.”

As he ran for prime minister, Keir Starmer promised an end to the use of hotels to accommodate asylum seekers, to hire 1,000 staff for a new “returns and enforcement unit”, and to introduce a new Border Security Command. Labour would “smash the gangs”, Starmer said in an often-used slogan.

Wednesday’s (21 August) announcement from Cooper signals how Labour intends to achieve that in government.

What do the experts make of Labour’s new asylum policies?

But experts are not convinced it will make a positive difference. Several told Big Issue the policies – and tone – represent a strengthening of the “hostile environment” and a return to the Conservative policies slammed by Labour as failures.

“Labour are choosing to ramp up hostile immigration policies and a ‘security’-driven approach. This is nothing new – in fact, it’s the same approach that’s led to people dying at our borders, treated inhumanely in prison-like detention centres and denied their rights,” said Mary Atkinson, campaigns and networks manager at the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants.

“These tired old policies harm everyone in our communities. When migrants are denied the right to work, they are forced into abusive situations. empowering exploitative bosses and pitting workers against each other. When migrants are denied safe routes, they are forced to risk their lives taking dangerous journeys to reach our shores. The far right violence we saw sweep the country just weeks ago should have been an urgent wake up call.”

Labour’s new Border Security Force will be funded by the money saved from scrapping the Rwanda scheme. But Zoe Gardner, an independent migration policy expert, said Labour appeared to be looking for a Rwanda-style gimmick of its own.

“Funnelling more money into detention and deportation is brutal and simply targets the victims instead of addressing the system failures that create irregular migration,” said Gardner.

“In the wake of a wave of racist violence on our streets it is highly irresponsible to be continuing the failed narrative that we can or should simply get rid of immigrants we don’t want. This is a betrayal of the change we were promised at the election.”

In fact, rhetoric of “border security” and “smashing gangs” could embolden smuggling gangs, warned Steve Valdez-Symonds, refugee and migrant rights programme director at Amnesty International UK.

“A new set of ministers promoting an age-old message of fear and hostility regarding some of the most victimised and traumatised people who may ever arrive in the UK, means that smuggling gangs and racist and Islamophobic hate-mongers at home are likely to feed off this to everyone’s detriment,” said Valdez-Symonds.

The expansion of immigration detention sparked alarm for Natasha Tsangarides, associate director of advocacy at Freedom from Torture.

“We know from the survivors of torture we support that blunt enforcement policies and detention only ever cause devastating harm,” said Tsangarides.

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