I’ll deport more than 14,0000 illegal migrants in six months, vows Yvette Cooper
THE Home Secretary has vowed to boot out more than 14,000 illegal immigrants in the next six months.
Yvette Cooper is today launching a crackdown on small boat migrants.
She has tasked Home Office officials with kicking out more within the next six months than at any point since 2018.
The highest number of deportations in that time was 14,389 in the second half of 2023, when the Tories were in power.
Labour’s new plans include deploying 100 more National Crime Agency operatives to bust people-smuggling gangs.
An extra 290 beds will also be found at two immigration removal centres — near Oxford and Gosport, Hants.
They will be used to detain failed asylum seekers before they are deported.
The moves came as another 206 people crossed the Channel in three boats on Monday — an average of 69 migrants a dinghy.
After axing the Conservative plan to fly migrant arrivals to Rwanda, Labour is banking on ending the small boats crisis by smashing the organised smuggling operations.
But in a controversial move to slash the use of hotels to house arrivals, the Government will resume processing asylum applications for people who have previously arrived in the country illegally.
Critics claim this will mean an amnesty for many of them.
Ms Cooper said: “We are taking strong and clear steps to boost our border security and ensure the rules are respected and enforced.”
NCA chief Rob Jones added: “Tackling organised immigration crime remains a key priority for the NCA and we are dedicating more effort and resources than ever before.”
Shadow Home Secretary James Cleverly said: “This is not nearly ambitious enough.”