UNITED Kingdom government, yesterday, said it plans to set up return hubs in third countries to hold asylum seekers with rejected claims before deportation.
The UK Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, disclosed the plan during a state visit to Albania focused on tackling illegal migration.
The UK leader has been under pressure since taking office to go tough on immigration amid Reform UK’s meteoric rise in the polls.
Earlier this week, Sir Keir announced plans to crack down on legal migration, including banning care homes from hiring overseas, reducing the student visa route, doubling the length of time before migrants can qualify for settlement in the UK and giving the government new powers to deport foreign criminals.
The announcement comes in the same week that the number of people crossing the English Channel in small boats passed 12,000 for the year. The figure puts 2025 on course to be a record year for crossings, something which would cause unease for Labour as it was elected on a manifesto promise to smash the people smuggling gangs.
Addressing a press conference, Starmer said he was already in talks with a number of countries about sending failed asylum seekers to them without mentioning the countries he’s discussing with. He described the hubs as a really important innovation that would complement other measures the government is taking to crack down on criminal smuggling gangs.
“We are in talks with a number of countries about return hubs. At the appropriate time, I’ll be able to give you further details in relation to it.”
Offering further explanation, the Prime Minister’s official Spokesperson said the return hubs will target asylum seekers whose applications have been rejected and who are seeking to frustrate their deportation or have lost their paperwork.
By removing them to another country, the government hopes to reduce their ability to find other reasons to prevent deportation, such as starting a family.
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