Kemi Badenoch Unveils US-Style Immigration Crackdown With Plan To Deport 150,000 Migrants Annually

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has announced a major immigration crackdown modeled on the U.S. system, pledging to deport 150,000 migrants from the UK each year.

Her proposal includes the creation of a new “Removals Force,” based on the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency, which would replace the current Home Office Immigration Enforcement unit. The new body would receive double the current funding — £1.6 billion annually, up from £820 million.

Speaking at the Conservative conference, Badenoch said the unit’s goal would be to increase deportations from 34,000 to 150,000 annually, amounting to at least 750,000 removals over a full parliamentary term. “They don’t belong here. They are committing crimes. They are hurting people,” she said. “I’m tired of us asking irrelevant questions about where they should go. They will go back to where they came from.”

Badenoch emphasized that her team had spent the past year developing practical plans for government, insisting that “nothing good comes quickly or fast” but promising results.

Under previous Conservative administrations, the UK saw record levels of both legal and illegal migration, including a rise in small boat crossings. Badenoch acknowledged her party’s past mistakes but accused Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer of failing to control immigration. “We must tackle the scourge of illegal immigration and secure our borders,” she said at the start of the four-day conference.

She also confirmed her intention to withdraw Britain from the European Convention on Human Rights, arguing it hinders the deportation of failed asylum seekers.

The Conservatives outlined a seven-point strategy to curb illegal migration, which includes banning asylum claims from illegal entrants, repealing the Human Rights Act, and removing access to legal aid in immigration cases.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood dismissed Badenoch’s proposals, saying the plan “lacked any credibility whatsoever” and highlighting the Conservatives’ poor record in deporting failed asylum seekers.