MP for Heywood and Middleton North welcomes new measures enforcing immigration rules and increasing returns

Photo: Gregory Couzens

Elsie Blundell, MP for Heywood & Middleton North

Elsie Blundell, MP for Heywood and Middleton North says she has welcomed the Home Secretary’s announcement of new measures to strengthen border security, enforce immigration rules and increase returns.

New measures to boost Britain’s border security were set out on 21 August - including the immediate recruitment of up to 100 new specialist intelligence and investigation officers at the National Crime Agency (NCA), to target, dismantle and disrupt organised immigration crime networks.

Yvette Cooper has also announced a surge in immigration enforcement and returns activity, to make sure that immigration and asylum rules are respected and enforced.

The Home Secretary outlined that the Government has new plans for the next six months to achieve the highest rate of removals of those with no right to be here, including failed asylum seekers, for five years (since 2018).

In addition, a new intelligence-driven illegal working programme will be rolled out, to target, investigate and target, investigate and enforce penalties on unscrupulous employers who illegally employ those with no right to work here.

The new measures are said to include:

• Up to 100 new specialist intelligence and investigations officers deployed to the National Crime Agency (NCA), to disrupt and smash criminal smuggling gangs and prevent dangerous boat crossings
• An increase in enforcement and returns flights, with the aim of removals reaching their highest level since 2018, reversing the damaging drop in enforcement over recent years
• Increased detention capacity, including 290 added beds at Campsfield and Haslar Immigration Removal Centres
• Redeployment of staff to drive this increase in returns
• Sanctions to be taken against unscrupulous employers who hire workers illegally

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

“Our new Border Security Command is already gearing up, with new staff being urgently recruited and additional staff already stationed across Europe. They will work with European enforcement agencies to find every route in to smashing the criminal smuggling gangs organising dangerous boat crossings which undermine our border security and put lives at risk.

“And 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.”

MP for Heywood and Middleton North Elsie Blundell said: “On border security and the asylum system, as in every other area of government, the sheer scale of incompetence and the staggering waste of taxpayer’s money under the Tories has left the new Home Secretary with a huge mess to clean up.

“We know there are no quick fixes to these complex challenges. But already we are taking the swift and decisive action required to strengthen our border security, crack down on the smuggling gangs, and get our asylum system under control.”