What is the government doing to tackle illegal immigration?

9 Sep 2025 11:40 AM

For the first time, small boat migrants arriving in the UK face being detained and returned to France.

What is the government doing to tackle illegal immigration?

For the first time, small boat migrants arriving in the UK face being detained and returned to France.

The message to the criminal people-smugglers is clear: we will end your vile trade.

Working with our partners, we are seizing boats and engines, stopping online advertising and anyone coming here illegally by small boat faces detention and return.

Since June 2024, the government has returned more than 35,000 people with no right to be in the UK – a 28% increase in returns of failed asylum seekers and a 13% increase in overall returns compared to the previous year.

Securing our borders is part of the government’s Plan for Change

What is the UK-France treaty?

Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron have agreed to take forward a groundbreaking partnership to address illegal Channel crossings and dismantle the people-smuggling gangs.

A new pilot scheme will see small boat arrivals being returned to France then an equal number of migrants will be able to come to the UK from France through a new legal route – fully documented and subject to strict security checks.

The pilot agreement is intended to prevent irregular migrant journeys across Europe to the UK and prevent dangerous small boat crossings, helping to undermine the business model of organised, criminal gangs profiting from people’s misery by showing others these journeys could result in them being returned back to France – ultimately saving lives.

How many people are returned from the UK?

• in the year ending June 2025 there were 9,100 enforced returns, an increase of 25% on the previous year, continuing an increase seen over the last 4 years
• there were 5,300 foreign national offender returns in the year ending June 2025, an increase of 16% compared to the previous year
• there were 26,761 voluntary returns in the year ending June 2025, up by 13% compared to the previous year

For further details see:

• ‘How many people are returned from the UK?’.
• ‘How many people come to the UK irregularly?’.
• ‘How many people are granted asylum in the UK?’.
• ‘How many people are detained under immigration powers in the UK?’.