Plans to open more safe and legal routes for migrants will lead to a “Burnham-wave” of arrivals, critics have warned. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the UK wants to “live up to our international obligations”.
Opponents warn of influx
Opponents called the plan a “dangerous policy” that will lead to an influx of arrivals, as migrants arriving on the schemes apply to bring their family members with them. Under one of the new controversial schemes, community groups will be able to sponsor people to move to the UK, including charities, faith groups and businesses.
Labour hopes the proposals will stop migrants crossing the Channel on small boats.
Migration Watch warning
Alp Mehmet, chairman of Migration Watch, warned the scheme will backfire, comparing it to the record number of legal arrivals under Boris Johnson. He said: “It’s a magic bullet that is going to come straight out of the rifle and straight back at us.
“I think it is an absurd scheme. My really strong belief and fear is that this is going to lead to the sort of Boris-wave of migration. It’s going to be the Burnham-wave.
“It is absurd that we are really handing, outsourcing, immigration control, to NGOs, to churches, to business, to universities. Really, what they want is what they are going to get.
“It is a dangerous, dangerous policy. It’s not going to stop the boats.”
Scheme details
The Home Office said the UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS) will reopen immediately and expects that around 25% of arrivals will be Afghan women and girls and Palestinians. Hundreds of people are expected to arrive under the UKRS, which stopped taking new applicants in December 2024, and three new sponsorship routes.
The latter will involve communities, universities and companies hosting refugees from next year.
Political reaction
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: “This latest open borders plan from Shabana Mahmood is madness.
“While illegal immigration continues out of control, she plans to ship in more people from around the world.
“They will then have the right to bring in extended family members under the ECHR - one asylum seeker from Gaza brought in 15 family members.
“And let’s not forget huge crowds of people in Gaza cheered on the streets when the bodies of 7th October victims were paraded through the streets. This was sick.
“We don’t want people here who cheered for murder and rape.”
The Home Office expects arrivals to increase to the “low thousands” as levels of illegal migration fall. A cap will be set for each year although details of the number have yet to be provided.
Reform’s Zia Yusuf said: “Shabana Mahmood’s plans will mean more migrants and more Afghan criminals arriving in our country. It’s a complete disgrace.
“The British public has been sold out so Burnham can keep Angela Rayner happy.
“Anyone thinking about arriving under these schemes should think twice. Under a Reform Government, all these people will have their right to stay revoked immediately and be deported.”
Home Secretary's defence
The Home Secretary said the Government can “unlock the inherent generosity of this country” by providing safe and legal refugee routes. Speaking at the Labour party conference in Liverpool, she said her migration reforms will “come to a position that balances fairness”.
The UK resettlement scheme will reopen immediately, with around a quarter of those admitted to the UK under it expected to be Palestinians and women and girls from Afghanistan. It marks a shift after the closure of the Afghan resettlement route last year.
Hundreds are expected to come to Britain under the scheme and three community sponsorship routes at first, growing to the “low thousands” as levels of illegal migration fall, and with a cap set each year. They will be put on a five-year path to permanent settlement.
Most refugees admitted under the UK resettlement scheme will be referred through the UN refugee agency UNHCR, with Palestinians coming through the International Refugee Assistance Project (Irap).
The Home Secretary said: “I know the British people have not given up on their belief that we should be compassionate, live up to our international obligations, and save the lives of those fleeing war and persecution.
She added: “This is what we can do – this is who we can be – as we restore control to our borders, bear down on small boat crossings, and unlock the inherent generosity of this country.”
The Home Secretary said her migrant background had made her committed to fairness. “My parents came to this country from rural Kashmir,” she said.
“Because they knew they would get a fair shot at a better life here, a fairer shot than they could ever expect back home, where past was precedent, and your birth dictated your future.
“They were, largely, welcomed to this country, because most Brits thought it was right to welcome people who come here legally, build a life, and contribute to our nation.”
But Ms Mahmood said limits are needed on the number of refugees. She said: “I also know this process must be capped and controlled, and communities must be ready and able to welcome those who come here.
“This is what we can do and who we can be as we restore control to our borders, bear down on the small boat crossings, and unlock the inherent generosity of this country.”
Ms Mahmood defended her approach to immigration policy on the fringes of the party conference, saying: “I think sometimes people think that if you take the argument in the way that I do, somehow that just means that you’re appeasing racists and small-minded people, and you’re always chasing wrong-uns who do the wrong thing.
“And I think that’s a real misunderstanding … in my view, it writes off so many millions of people in the country – that would actually be a dereliction of a duty to approach politics in that way.”
