Unease about ‘ICE in the UK’ has been heightened by the continued rise of Nigel Farage and Reform UK, and their recent announcement of the goal to create an ICE-style agency.
Reform UK has announced plans to create a deportation agency modelled on ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), as well as to end indefinite leave to remain if the party comes into power.
Zia Yusuf has said in a speech that Reform would leave the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and put a legal duty on the Home Secretary to remove illegal migrants.
He has promised to create a new agency, UK Deportation Command, with the capacity to detain 24,000 migrants at a time and deport up to 288,000 annually on five flights a day.
Yusuf also described the number of migrants arriving in the country as an “invasion.”
Natasha Tsangarides, of Charity Freedom from Torture, said: “Yusuf’s speech was a grotesque display of ethno-nationalist, authoritarian cruelty. His divisive and dangerous proposals threaten to divide families and wreak terror and chaos in our communities.”
These concerns come as immigration enforcement has already increased. The Home Office has reported that enforcement raids have increased by 77%, leading to an 83% increase in arrests at businesses such as nail bars, car washes, barbers, and takeaways.
The UK already operates its own version, ‘IE’ (immigration enforcement), which people have now taken to social media to warn those living in Central London, Walthamstow and Streatham about unmarked vans and raids targeting those deemed illegal.
Witnesses have seen an increase in IE business raids and unmarked black vans, which people are comparing to ICE in the US.
Layla Hussain, an advocacy officer at RAMFEL, said, “For the people that we represent and support, there’s a well-founded fear of what these enforcement raids mean for them.
“For us as an immigration advice organisation, there’s an increased worry, especially as the new earned settlement proposals make it far more likely that people will fall out of their status, or be unable to regularise their status, leaving them at risk of being detained.”
Following this, the Home Office have also made a TikTok account called ‘SecureBordersUK’ where they post immigration raids.
Layla Hussain added: “Reform’s proposals for ICE-style deportation squads are truly terrifying, but Labour have also for months been boasting online about deportation numbers, and they are clearly trying to appease and placate reform voters.
“The Green Party’s win in the Gordon and Denton by-election shows something important though, voters aren’t drawn to Trump-style ICE enforcement or hard-line immigration crackdowns, they backed a party that hasn’t centred that approach, signalling people want a fairer, more humane immigration system”
When asked to comment on the criticism surrounding ‘SecureBordersUk’, a Home Office spokesperson said: “The government’s first migration-focused TikTok account is battling misinformation, people smugglers and ensuring a wider audience is provided with evidence-based facts on immigration matters.
“The Home Secretary has announced sweeping reforms to make Britain less attractive for illegal migrants and scale up removals of those with no right to be here, and is driving immigration enforcement action to the highest level in British history.”
Addressing a conference for the Fabian Society at the Guildhall in central London in January, Sadiq Khan described ICE as: “a de facto paramilitary force targeting and terrorising diverse communities.”
Khan said: “This is a new extreme, and one a Reform government could seek to emulate, leaving minorities fearing a tap on the shoulder.”
However, Yusuf made clear that mass deportations carried out by a planned UK Deportation Command would not trigger the same violence seen in the US because “policing is done by consent” in the UK.
Featured image credit: John Cameron on Unsplash
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