Tories pledge UK version of ICE to detain and deport illegal immigrants

The Conservatives will pledge to create a new “Removals Force” tasked with deporting 150,000 people a year as part of plans to end irregular migration into the UK.

Tory plans announced on Sunday would see the Removals Force given £1.6 billion and “sweeping new powers” including the use of facial recognition without warning to spot illegal immigrants.

The force will be expected to “integrate closely” with the police, who will be required to conduct immigration checks on everyone they stop or arrest.

The Removals Force proposal is modelled on the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency, which the Conservatives said had provided a “successful approach” in removing illegal immigrants.

But ICE has also been heavily criticised in the past year, accused of arresting both legal migrants and US citizens and targeting people based on their race.

The proposal forms part of the Conservatives’ “Borders Plan” announced at the start of the party’s annual conference on Sunday.

Immigration is set to be one of the key themes of the annual gathering, with “Stronger Borders” one of two slogans hanging from the front of the conference centre in Manchester.

Some 34,401 people have crossed the Channel in small boats so far this year, according to PA news agency analysis of Home Office figures, putting 2025 on course to break the record for most arrivals in a single year.

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said: “We must tackle the scourge of illegal immigration into Britain and secure our borders.

“That is why the Conservatives are setting out a serious and comprehensive new plan to end this crisis.”

Along with the Removals Force, the plan includes a radical overhaul of the asylum system which would see refugee status granted only to those threatened by a foreign government.

Those fleeing conflict or “less tolerant” laws on religion or sexuality would not be eligible, with the party saying “few people will qualify”.

The plan will also see the immigration tribunal abolished, with all decisions on migration taken by the Home Office with only limited rights of appeal in cases where officials have acted without statutory authority.

Immigration cases will be denied legal aid, with the Conservatives accusing solicitors of having “defrauded” the UK by “coaching” applicants and arguing there is “no need for lawyers” as people “should simply tell the truth about their circumstances”.

The plan follows the Tories’ announcement that they would look to leave the European Convention on Human Rights if it won the next election, arguing the treaty had “frustrated the country’s efforts to secure its borders and deport those with no right to be here”.

It also comes as Mrs Badenoch faces continued pressure on her right flank in the shape of Reform UK, which has already pledged to leave the ECHR and deport up to 600,000 people over five years if it comes to power.

She said: “Reform have nothing but announcements that fall apart on arrival. Our Stronger Borders plan is serious and credible and backed by a comprehensive legal analysis.

“That is the difference the next Conservative government will deliver.”

She also accused the Government of offering “failed gimmicks”, including its one in, one out deal with France – dubbed “one thousand in, one out” by Mrs Badenoch – that has so far seen just 18 people returned after crossing the Channel.

A Labour Party spokesperson said: “The Conservatives’ message on immigration is: we got everything wrong, we won’t apologise, now trust us.

“It won’t wash – Kemi Badenoch’s party enabled record high net migration as removals plummeted, opened over 400 asylum hotels and wasted £700 million of taxpayers’ money to send just four volunteers to Rwanda.

“This Labour Government is fixing the Tories’ mess by smashing the people-smuggling gangs running the vile small boats trade, closing asylum hotels, deporting foreign criminals and signing international returns deals to bring order to Britain’s borders.”