Kent to declare ‘illegal immigration emergency’ – the first of its kin | Politics | News
Kent’s Reform England-led council will this week declare an “illegal immigration emergency” in the first of its kind. Councilors will demand the Labor Government “stop the boats immediately” and provide “full funding” to cover the costs of people coming into the country illegally.
They will also push for “resilience structures and contingency planning” to get the support needed to “deal with this crisis.”
Mayor Linden Kemkaran said: “Illegal small boat crossings are not a distant problem for the City. Our residents see the consequences every day. Declaring an illegal immigration emergency recognizes the reality on the ground and sends a clear message that enough is enough. Local communities in Kent cannot be expected to shoulder the burden of the crisis created by years of failure at Westminster.”
A motion saying Kent is “at the forefront of this occupation” will go before councilors on Thursday. The report claims that residents and taxpayers in the borough suffer “consequences” affecting crime, culture and community cohesion, as well as financial costs.
Official figures show more than 68,000 people have arrived in the UK on small boats since Labor came to power in July 2024, with more than 3,400 arriving so far this year.
The motion, tabled before councillors, says it “represents a failure of the state under both national Labor and Conservative administrations” and outlines Reform’s plans to stop illegal immigration. These include “the detention and deportation of anyone arriving in the UK on small boats”, as well as leaving the European Convention on Human Rights. It states that the party plans to “remove illegal immigrants from boats and send them back to France”, establish a new Immigration Department, introduce “fast-track offshore asylum processes” and “deport all foreign criminals”.
The aim of the declaration is to “draw attention to the Kent’s particular needs in this crisis and to pressure the ineffective Labor government to take meaningful action”.
A Home Office spokesman defended Labour’s record, saying: “This Government has inherited a broken immigration system and since we took office we have stopped more than 40,000 attempted crossings and removed or deported almost 60,000 people. The Home Secretary has recently set out a series of tough new measures to make the UK a less attractive destination for illegal immigrants, as well as canceling accommodation and support payments for many asylum seekers. Once immigration is under control We won’t stop until.” again.”
The Refugee Council and Refugee Action were invited to comment.
