Shabana Mahmood’s crackdown on immigration goes into action TODAY, and an emergency brake will stop the flow of asylum seekers.
As part of Labour’s effort to cut down on asylum claims, Shabana Mahmood’s new rules on migration will go into force today.
The Home Secretary, who announced the measures on March 5, will put an emergency stop to visas from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar, and Sudan.
The emergency brake is meant to stop a rise in refugee claims from the four countries, which rose by 470% between 2021 and 2025.
Afghans have also seen more asylum claims on work visas than visas given out.
But Labour MPs have become more and more suspicious of Ms. Mahmood’s promises over immigration.
Angela Rayner, a former Deputy Prime Minister, spoke out against plans to change the rights of 1.6 million migrants to stay in the UK last week. She called the measures “un-British.”
Left-wing MPs have told Sir Keir Starmer that if the Labour Government adopts a hard line on immigration, he might lose support to the Green Party.
Even though Labour backbenchers warned against it, today’s reforms will also modify the family status essential for asylum petitions.
The term “relative” has been changed to “close relative” in asylum requests. The Home Secretary can legally say when an asylum claim has been made if it is in the public interest.
If you win your asylum case, you will only be protected for 30 months, or five years if you are an unaccompanied kid under 18.
The Home Secretary’s actions are meant to stop asylum claims, but Labour’s proposal came under fire when it was revealed that a new pilot program would pay rejected claimants up to £40,000 to go back to their home countries on their own.
The trial program will focus on about 150 families who are residing in taxpayer-funded asylum housing.
Ms. Mahmood said when she announced the measures earlier this month, “The kindness of the British people will depend on those seeking asylum following the law, living by our rules, and not working illegally.”
“Taxpayer-funded housing will only be available to people who can’t work and would otherwise be homeless, like any British citizen.”People who refuse to take on duties can’t expect British taxpayers to pay for their lives.
The Home Secretary also tried to silence her Labour critics by saying that it was necessary to stop the rise of Reform UK.
She went on to say, “If we don’t fix these issues, people who don’t share our values will have the chance to do so instead.”
Labour MPs, on the other hand, have said they are worried about the measures that go into effect today.
Earlier this month, Folkestone MP Tony Vaughan got 100 Labour colleagues to sign a letter saying that the proposal went against Sir Keir’s promise to promote integration and social harmony.
He remarked, “We can make our immigration system better without forgetting who we are as a Labour Party.”
“You don’t win back people’s trust in the asylum system by threatening to forcibly remove refugees who have lived here legally for 15 or 20 years.” That merely makes people feel unsafe and breaks up communities.
Stella Creasy, the MP for Walthamstow, said, “There is no ‘fairness’ in repeatedly spending money on asking victims of trafficking and civil war if they are still in that category, especially since we have already given them refugee status, which means they are at risk of harm.”
“Ukrainians, Iranians, and Afghans will all now live in a state of limbo, unable to plan their lives here or in their home country because they can’t be sure of their status. This makes them easier to exploit as well.I can’t wait to read the National Audit Office (NAO) report and the scandal that will come out that none of us promised to fix, like the Windrush issue.