Reform UK Announces Sweeping Immigration Overhaul with ICE-Style Deportation Agency
Reform UK has unveiled a radical new immigration policy framework that includes creating a dedicated deportation agency, terminating indefinite leave to remain status, and significantly expanding stop and search powers. The party's home affairs spokesperson, Zia Yusuf, will outline these controversial proposals in a major speech on Monday, positioning border security and public safety as central campaign themes.
Mass Deportation Infrastructure Proposed
Yusuf will announce plans to establish UK Deportation Command, an agency modeled after the United States' Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) system. This new body would have the capacity to detain up to 24,000 migrants simultaneously and deport approximately 288,000 people annually through five daily flights. This represents a dramatic escalation from current detention capabilities, which stood at around 2,500 spaces as of April 2024.
"For decades, the Tories and Labour have turned the other way while the very fabric of our society has been under assault," Yusuf will declare in his speech. "The social contract has not merely been broken; it's been shattered. Under a Reform government, His Majesty's parliament will be sovereign once again."
Ending Settled Status and Changing Visa Rules
The party proposes to completely scrap indefinite leave to remain (ILR), replacing it with a renewable five-year work visa featuring a high salary threshold. This policy shift could potentially affect tens of thousands of individuals who currently hold settled status in the United Kingdom. Yusuf specifically criticized former Prime Minister Boris Johnson for immigration policies that he claims led to increased net migration.
Labour has responded forcefully to these proposals, with party chair Anna Turley describing them as "a direct attack on settled families and fundamentally un-British." Turley emphasized that "Britain is a proud, tolerant and diverse nation, which stands in opposition to the kind of divisive politics stoked by Reform."
Broader Security and Cultural Measures
Beyond immigration enforcement, Yusuf's speech will outline several additional policy positions:
- Withdrawing from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)
- Implementing a legal duty for the Home Secretary to remove illegal migrants
- Redrawing the Prevent deradicalisation programme to focus specifically on Islamist extremism
- Proscribing the Muslim Brotherhood organisation
- Banning the conversion of churches into mosques or other places of worship
- Ending diversity initiatives within police forces while expanding stop and search powers
Yusuf will frame these measures as necessary to protect British culture and heritage, stating: "We will protect British culture, because a nation without a culture is not a nation at all. It is just an economic zone. We will preserve Britain's Christian heritage."
Political Context and Reactions
The announcement comes as Labour has also proposed changes to indefinite leave to remain, with Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood indicating plans to extend the eligibility period from five to ten years. However, Labour's approach differs significantly from Reform's more sweeping proposals.
Yusuf's speech positions public safety as a central message, with the spokesperson promising British citizens: "My message to the British people is simple: I will secure our borders and make you feel safe." The proposals represent some of the most stringent immigration policies announced by a major UK political party in recent years, setting the stage for intense debate during the upcoming election campaign period.
