The UK government is preparing to unveil new strategies to address the influx of migrants, sometimes referred to as the “Boris Wave,” which surged toward the end of the previous Conservative administration. This is seen as a way to support right-wing advocates who have long highlighted this issue.
Shabana Mahmoud, the Home Secretary in the current Labour government, is set to roll out a new immigration policy on Monday. This comes as her party faces challenges in regaining public support, with right-leaning figure Nigel Farage dominating the opinion polls throughout the year. The government is looking to adopt policies similar to Denmark’s, which have effectively reduced the attraction of asylum seeking in the country.
Further discussions are anticipated to address what the government describes as “asylum shopping” in Europe, indicating that many migrants are choosing the UK due to its relatively welcoming stance and low rate of deportations. Despite a rise in asylum applications across Europe, the UK continues to experience an uptick in domestic claims.
Mahmoud mentioned that the country will introduce “the most significant changes to the asylum system in modern times.” While implementing features from the Danish model may be difficult in the UK’s current political landscape, especially under a less immigration-friendly government, the proposal to extend the time needed for ‘Boris Wave’ migrants to qualify for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) could be feasible. This change would be urgent and is being floated for potential implementation as early as January.
Under the proposed changes, migrants would need to stay in the UK for a decade instead of the current five years before achieving ILR status, which grants them permanent residence and access to welfare benefits.
This shift is seen as a crucial cost-control strategy, particularly since most of the 1.6 million migrants linked to the Boris Wave earn below the median wage and could claim substantial welfare support in the coming years. Notably, delaying ILR beyond the next general election may enable future right-wing governments to deport these individuals without grappling with the complexities of revoking their ILR status.
It’s suggested that the anticipated changes to the immigration system could also involve denying ILR to new migrants, even if they meet the decade requirement, provided they are taxpayers and not reliant on welfare or have no criminal backgrounds. This means the Labour government might even start some of these adjustments sooner rather than later.
The public has shown a keen interest in the government’s focus on ILR amid the Boris Wave debate. Online platforms and conservative publications have arguably played a significant role in bringing these discussions into the political spotlight, particularly with Nigel Farage’s Reform Britain party taking a strong stance on the issue earlier this year.
Interestingly, Farage faced accusations of racism when he first proposed adjusting the ILR system to prevent the Boris Wave migrants from settling permanently in the UK. Yet, now the Labour government seems to be edging closer to his initial ideas. In previous comments, Farage pointed out that while the public concentrated on the visible migrant crisis, the broader issues surrounding migrants had been overlooked by successive governments. He advocated for a national conversation about immigration and its impacts.
Farage has characterized the Boris Wave as an unprecedented surge of immigration that occurred during Johnson’s time as Prime Minister, arguing it contradicts what many voters desired during Brexit. He lamented that promises to reduce net immigration to tens of thousands were broken, with actual numbers exceeding one million in the worst years.
Last month, it was reported that former Prime Minister Johnson defended his open border policy, framing it as a necessary economic measure following the lockdown and bemoaned the unfair criticism received.
