Yvette Cooper Faces Backlash Over New Immigration Plans.
Yvette Cooper is encountering significant criticism for the government’s latest strategy to address illegal migration to the UK. The plan involves increasing deportations to levels not seen since 2018.
The Home Secretary has proposed expanding immigration detention centers, aiming to deport over 14,500 illegal migrants within the next six months—a higher rate than at any time since Theresa May was Prime Minister, according to The Telegraph.
The expansion includes nearly 300 additional spaces at two contentious immigration removal centers. Additionally, up to 100 new specialist officers will be recruited to the National Crime Agency (NCA) to work with European agencies on tackling people-smuggling networks.
Critics Label Plans as a “Backwards Step”
Critics have labeled the plans as “a waste of taxpayer money,” arguing that they “lack detail,” as reported by The Independent. Labour is also accused of neglecting “the dignity and humanity of migrants,” particularly after recent racist riots targeting hotels housing asylum seekers across the UK.
The decision to reopen two controversial centers—Campsfield House in Kidlington, Oxfordshire, and Haslar in Gosport, Hampshire—has been criticized as a “backwards step.” Both centers were closed due to issues such as hunger strikes and suicides.
Challenges for Labour
Despite the challenges in redefining Labour’s stance on migration, Prime Minister Keir Starmer might benefit from low public expectations of the current government, noted Politico’s Esther Webber.
“People might have low expectations of this government,” said Luke Tryl, director of the polling firm More in Common. “But they definitely want him to give it a shot, and they want him to succeed.”
Amnesty International’s Criticism
Steve Valdez-Symonds, Amnesty International’s refugee and migrant rights program director, has criticized the plans as a “reheating” of old Conservative rhetoric on border security. He emphasized that people fleeing war and persecution from countries like Sudan, Afghanistan, Syria, and Iran will continue to seek refuge in the UK. The government, he said, should establish safe routes to prevent dangerous border crossings and exploitation by smuggling gangs.
Valdez-Symonds warned that a “securitized” approach could deter genuine asylum seekers from coming to the UK. Daniel Sohege, writing for Big Issue, echoed this concern, stating that Labour’s policies appear to follow the failed enforcement-focused strategies of the Conservatives.
Labour’s Strategy Under Scrutiny
Labour’s tough stance on immigration is seen as an attempt to address upcoming figures expected to show a decline in migrant doctors, nurses, and care workers, while small boat arrivals remain high, according to migration policy expert Zoe Gardner in Metro.
Gardner pointed out that Labour voters do not prioritize immigration and emphasized that the people who supported Yvette Cooper in the Home Office want to move away from failed, hate-fueling policies of the past towards a more humane and evidence-based approach to managing immigration.