The United Kingdom Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, has vowed to clamp down harder on illegal migration, declaring that foreign nationals living or working unlawfully in the UK will face immediate arrest, detention, and deportation.
Starmer, in a Facebook post, issued the stern warning while stressing his administration’s zero-tolerance stance on irregular migration and unlawful employment.
“My message is clear: Illegal entry means detention. Illegal work means arrest. Foreign national offenders will be deported,” the Prime Minister wrote.
The Labour leader’s remarks came a day after he reiterated on X (formerly Twitter) that migrants crossing the English Channel illegally would be detained and returned, amid growing public anger over the surge in small boat arrivals and the use of taxpayer-funded hotels to accommodate asylum seekers.
“I am clear: we will not reward illegal entry. If you cross the Channel unlawfully, you will be detained and sent back,” Starmer posted.
According to Home Office data, over 29,000 migrants have crossed the Channel in small boats so far in 2025 — a record figure for this time of year and nearly 50 percent higher than the same period in 2024.
The worsening crisis has triggered a wave of protests across England, including in London, Skegness, and Gloucester, where asylum seekers are being housed in hotels. At least five people were arrested during weekend demonstrations in west London.
Public frustration has mounted since an asylum seeker housed at a government-funded hotel was arrested earlier this summer and charged with multiple offences, including the alleged sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl.
The Home Office revealed that more than 32,000 asylum seekers were being accommodated in hotels as of June — despite the government’s earlier promise to shut them down before the next general election.
To tackle the problem, the UK and France are trialling a controversial scheme in which migrants arriving illegally by boat will be sent back to France, while Britain would accept the same number of asylum seekers through a legal pathway. However, the arrangement is expected to affect only a small fraction of the arrivals.
The Starmer government has also just won a Court of Appeal challenge that allows authorities to continue housing migrants at the Bell Hotel in Epping, a move likely to further inflame tensions.
With record Channel crossings, mounting pressure from anti-immigration protests, and a growing backlash against asylum hotels, Starmer has doubled down on his pledge: Nigerians and other undocumented migrants living in the UK face a future of arrest, detention, and swift deportation.
