The Leader of the UK Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch, has announced what she described as the “toughest reforms Britain has ever seen” in immigration policy, unveiling an ambitious plan to detain and deport 150,000 illegal migrants each year under a new initiative called the Radical Borders Plan.
In a video message shared on her X (formerly Twitter) account on Sunday, Badenoch outlined her proposal to overhaul the UK’s border enforcement system, pledging to establish a new Removals Force modeled after the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency.
“My message is clear: if you’re here illegally, you will be detained and deported,”
Badenoch declared in her post.
Under the proposed reforms, asylum claims from illegal entrants would be banned, the Human Rights Act repealed, and the UK would withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) a move that would significantly reshape Britain’s legal obligations toward migrants and asylum seekers.
Badenoch said the plan would ensure that all illegal arrivals are deported within one week, with legal barriers to mass deportations removed and visa sanctions imposed on countries that refuse to repatriate their citizens.
She added that the new enforcement agency would “shut down the asylum hotel racket,” save taxpayers billions of pounds, and restore public confidence in Britain’s border system.
“Successive governments have failed on immigration,” she said.
“Labour promised to smash the gangs. Instead, they delivered record small boat crossings, over 50,000 illegal arrivals, 32,000 people in asylum hotels, and billions wasted.
It’s pure weakness. Britain needs a serious, credible plan — and the backbone to deliver it.”
However, Badenoch’s announcement has drawn criticism from political opponents and human rights advocates who argue that her proposals would undermine Britain’s international obligations and risk violating human rights laws.
During an interview on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Badenoch dismissed questions about where deported migrants would be sent, saying:
“I’m tired of all of these irrelevant questions about where they should go. They will go back to where they should be or another country, but they should not be here.”
When pressed further, she reiterated:
“They will go back to where they came from.”
According to Sky News, the proposed Removals Force would replace the existing Home Office Immigration Enforcement unit and be granted sweeping powers — including the use of facial recognition technology without prior warning — to identify and remove undocumented migrants.
If implemented, Badenoch’s plan would represent one of the most radical overhauls of UK immigration policy in decades, intensifying debates over border control, asylum rights, and Britain’s commitment to international human rights frameworks.
The announcement has also reignited the political divide between the Conservatives and Labour, with Badenoch positioning her party as the only one with a “serious and credible plan” to secure Britain’s borders.
“Only the Conservatives can deliver stronger borders,” she concluded.
“If you come here illegally, you will be deported.”
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