Migrants could be TAGGED in new ‘stop the boats’ plan as Braverman blasts Starmer for ‘facilitating’ illegal crossings
MIGRANTS could be electronically tagged to stop them absconding under drastic plans to cut small boat crossings.
Suella Braverman today said she was considering “all options” to monitor asylum seekers if detention spaces become full.
The Home Secretary insisted: “We need to exercise a level of control over people if we’re to remove them from the United Kingdom.”
But she accused a “range of forces” including left-wing campaigners and lawyers for trying to thwart the government’s pledge to stop the boats.
And she even blasted Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour for actively wanting to “facilitate illegal migration”.
With the Rwanda deportation scheme on ice pending an autumn Supreme Court battle, the asylum backlog has soared to a record 175,000 waiting for a decision.
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Taxpayers are footing a £4billion annual bill to house migrants, including £6million-a-day to put them up in hotels.
Under new laws the Home Secretary now has a duty to detain illegal migrants, but space in detention centres is limited to just 2,500.
Officials have been tasked with finding ways of keeping checks on them, including GPS tagging, according to The Times.
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Ms Braverman said the Home Office would be “intensively increasing” detention spaces but was exploring a “range of options” to monitor migrants.
She denied the need to build thousands of new places because Rwanda would quickly stem the flow of Channel crossings.
And if the deportation flights were thwarted by the courts she vowed to do “whatever it takes” to stop the boats.
Charities and campaigners have fought to stop the Rwanda plan, which was ruled lawful by the High Court before being overturned by the Court of Appeal.
Supreme Court judges will make the final decision, but it is likely deportees will make individual claims that could scupper flights.
Ms Braverman blasted: “We are up against a range of forces intent on stopping us. Whether it’s immigration lawyers, NGOs – many of which have close links with the Labour Party – operating night and day to stop us delivering this pledge”.
She added: “The Labour Party has no plan to stop the boats, they want free movement of people and want to facilitate illegal migration.”