The United Kingdom has deported more than 24,000 illegal migrants in the nine months following the Labour Party’s victory in the July 2024 general election, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced as he opened the first international summit on combating organized illegal immigration in London.
“Today, I can report that since taking office, we have returned more than 24,000 individuals who had no right to be in the country,” the Prime Minister stated at the session, attended by officials from the interior ministries and law enforcement agencies of around 40 countries.
Starmer emphasized that this figure represents the highest number of deportations recorded in the past eight years. Meanwhile, according to Sky News, around 30,000 migrants crossed the English Channel in inflatable boats during the same period.
Tackling Crime and New Measures
The historic summit at Lancaster House gathered officials from countries with high numbers of migrants arriving in the UK, including Vietnam, Albania, and Iraq. Representatives from Interpol and major tech companies such as Meta, X, and TikTok also joined the discussions.
Opening the two-day forum, Starmer expressed his “outrage” at the scale of illegal migration and called for human trafficking to be treated with the same seriousness as terrorism. According to international law enforcement agencies, the global illegal trade is valued at around $10 billion annually.
The Prime Minister highlighted that international cross-border investigations are already yielding results. Although over 6,000 migrants crossed the Channel in small boats during the first months of 2025 — a record figure — the authorities have intensified deportation efforts.
Government’s Specific Steps
As part of its efforts to combat illegal migration, the UK Home Office announced the allocation of £33 million:
- £30 million will be directed to the Border Security Command to counter human trafficking networks across Europe, the Balkans, Asia, and Africa.
- £3 million will go to the Crown Prosecution Service to expedite the handling of illegal migration cases.
In addition, the government plans to tighten employment rights checks, expand legislation targeting migrants who alter their immigration status through student and work visas, and review the application of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which concerns the right to family life, in migration cases.
Separate measures are aimed at combating human smugglers. About £1 million will be allocated to dismantle criminal groups operating in Iraqi Kurdistan. The UK has also launched an information campaign on Vietnamese social media platforms to warn citizens against trusting smuggling gangs.