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‘If you come to this country…’: UK PM Keir Starmer issues stark warning to illegal immigrants
The British PM said that if illegal immigrants enter the country and commit a crime, then they will be deported as soon as possible.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday issued a stark warning to immigrants, saying that if they enter the country illegally, they will "face detention and return".
"If you come to this country illegally, you will face detention and return. If you come to this country and commit a crime, we will deport you as soon as possible," Starmer said in a post on X.
Starmer said that foreign criminals have been exploiting Britain's immigration system for far too long, adding that they have stayed in the UK for months or even years while their appeals continue to be processed.
"That ends now. If foreign nationals break the law, they will be deported at the earliest opportunity," he added in another post.
The Prime Minister further warned earlier on Sunday that if migrants come to the UK and commit a crime, then "you don't get to stay here". "You will face deportation at the earliest opportunity," he added.
On Saturday as well, Keir Starmer had asserted that he won't stand for illegal workers who try to cheat the UK's immigration system, saying that it was unfair to the people who abide by the rules.
"We’ve already arrested hundreds of delivery riders working illegally across the country. We won’t stop there — we’ve invested £5 million to boost immigration enforcement teams," he added in an X post.
The British PM has been repeatedly warning immigrants against crossing into the country illegally. He had said that if they enter the UK "on a small boat, you will face detention and return. I meant it".
Last week, UK detained the first small-boat migrants under a one in, one out returns treaty with France. An unspecified number of migrants who arrived in the country by boat were being held in an immigration removal center, pending removal to France.
"No gimmicks, just results. If you break the law to enter this country, you will face being sent back. When I say I will stop at nothing to secure our borders, I mean it," Starmer had said on the day.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper had said that "criminal gangs" spent seven years embedding themselves along our border, and it will take time to unravel them. "But these detentions are an important step toward undermining their business model and unraveling the false promises they make," Cooper added.
Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron had agreed upon the returns treaty last month, in an effort to reduce dangerous small boat crossings through a pilot program lasting 11 months.
Last week, the UK PM also termed illegal migration as a "business", saying that it was run by organised criminal gangs leading hundreds of people to their death in the Channel.
"My government is putting an end to this vile trade with a groundbreaking returns deal, smashing the business model and securing our borders," Starmer added.
