UK Illegal Immigrants: The Facts and the Solutions

Understanding UK Illegal Immigration

Illegal immigration refers to individuals who enter or remain in the UK without legal permission. This includes:

• Overstaying expired visas.

• Crossing borders without proper documentation.

• Using fraudulent identities or forged documents to remain.

Estimates place the number of illegal immigrants in the UK between 500,000 and 1.2 million, although the true figure is difficult to verify due to the clandestine nature of unlawful migration.

In recent years, illegal entry via small boats crossing the English Channel has become a high-profile issue. As of August 2024, over 132,000 people have crossed the Channel in small boats since 2018. Most pay criminal networks between £3,000 and £6,000 per crossing, fuelling an underground economy of exploitation and human smuggling.

The Cost and Impact of Illegal Immigration in the UK

Illegal immigration has far-reaching effects, straining national resources and undermining public confidence in the rule of law. Below is a breakdown of the primary impacts:

1. Public Services

Healthcare:

According to the House of Commons Library, the average annual cost of healthcare per illegal immigrant is £570. The Immigration Health Surcharge, designed to offset this cost for visa-holders, has generated £6.9 billion between 2015 and 2024 — yet illegal immigrants often bypass this contribution.

Education:

The Department for Education projects a requirement for 370,000 new school places by 2024, driven largely by immigration. While it’s unclear how many children of illegal immigrants are enrolled, the population increase places significant pressure on already stretched schools.

2. Housing and Accommodation

Asylum Accommodation:

The Home Office spent £5.38 billion on asylum services in the 2023/24 financial year — up 36% from the previous year. Over 500 hotels were being used for migrant housing by mid-2023, costing around £8 million per day.

Detention Costs:

The average cost of detaining an individual is £122 per day. In 2024, over 20,600 individuals were detained, a 12% year-on-year increase.

3. Economic Impact

Fiscal Burden:

Research from Oxford’s Migration Observatory suggests that non-EEA migrants had a negative fiscal contribution of £118 billion between 1995 and 2011.

Tax Evasion and Informal Labour:

Illegal immigrants often work in unregulated sectors, avoiding income tax and national insurance contributions — depriving the Treasury of hundreds of millions in revenue annually.

4. Social and Environmental Pressures

Infrastructure Strain:

Population increases linked to immigration contribute to congestion, longer NHS waiting times, and overcrowded housing. For example, London traffic moves at just 3.7 mph during evening rush hour, ranking it among the most congested cities globally.

Environmental Impact:

To meet rising housing demand, local councils are being pushed to build on greenbelt land. Illegal immigration accelerates this pressure, threatening biodiversity and local green spaces.

The Modern Party's Plan to Stop Illegal Immigration

The Modern Party believes that a strong, fair, and enforceable immigration system is essential to maintaining national sovereignty and social harmony. The party’s plan rests on five core pillars: enforcement, technology, reform, transparency, and integration.

1. Strengthening Border Security with Technology and Personnel

To stop illegal immigration, we must first stop illegal entry. The Modern Party will achieve this through:

● Drone Surveillance Network

We will deploy state-of-the-art drones along the UK’s coastline and high-risk entry points. These drones will operate 24/7 and include:

• Thermal imaging for night-time detection.

• AI-based movement tracking to identify suspicious vessels.

• Real-time alerts to immigration enforcement officers.

This technology will help cover the thousands of miles of UK coastline currently vulnerable to undetected landings.

● A Dedicated UK Coast Guard

We will establish a UK Coast Guard with the sole responsibility of protecting British waters. Unlike the overstretched Royal Navy or Border Force, the Coast Guard will:

• Patrol the English Channel daily.

• Intercept vessels suspected of carrying illegal migrants.

• Coordinate with drone units and European coastal authorities.

This team will be well-trained, well-funded, and properly empowered to protect the integrity of Britain’s maritime borders.

2. Fast-Track Deportation with Offshore Processing

A robust immigration policy must include the removal of those who break the law. The Modern Party will:

• Introduce a 14–28 day deportation rule for those entering illegally.

• Set up offshore asylum processing centres in safe third countries, to prevent asylum shopping.

• Refuse asylum claims made after illegal entry, except in the most exceptional humanitarian cases.

This system will remove the incentive for illegal migration, reduce legal bottlenecks, and demonstrate a clear message: if you come illegally, you will not stay.

3. Crack Down on the Exploitation Economy

Illegal immigration is sustained by those who benefit from it — namely, traffickers, rogue employers, and slum landlords. The Modern Party will:

• Increase fines and prison terms for hiring or housing illegal migrants.

• Introduce a licensing regime for industries at high risk, such as construction and agriculture.

• Empower the National Crime Agency with a special task force to tackle smuggling rings.

Illegal immigration will become unprofitable, unworkable, and legally unsustainable for criminals and exploiters alike.

4. Legal Immigration Reform: A Points-Based System Built on Merit and Integration

A fair immigration system must support those who come legally and have something to offer. The Modern Party supports a strict but fair points-based immigration model, focused on:

● English Language Proficiency

Language is critical for job performance, safety, and community integration. We will:

• Require certified English testing as part of all visa applications.

• Grant extra points to applicants with high proficiency.

• Make English fluency mandatory for roles in healthcare, teaching, transport, and customer-facing services.

● Integration Potential

We will assess applicants not just on skills, but on their likelihood to integrate and contribute. This includes:

• A revised Life in the UK Test focused on values like rule of law, tolerance, and civic duty.

• Additional points for applicants from culturally similar countries, where shared values, governance models, and societal norms are more closely aligned with British life — helping ensure smoother integration and mutual respect.

• A focus on applicants who show cultural understanding and long-term commitment to British life.

5. Transparency and Public Accountability

To rebuild public trust, the Modern Party will introduce full transparency into immigration policy:

• A Monthly Immigration Dashboard, publishing real-time data on arrivals, removals, and decisions.

• Annual caps on legal immigration, subject to Parliamentary approval and public consultation.

• Regional immigration impact reports to identify pressures on housing, schools, and hospitals.

The public deserves to know how immigration is affecting their communities — and what their government is doing about it.

Conclusion

Illegal immigration is a complex, costly, and deeply emotional issue — but one that cannot be ignored or brushed aside. With billions spent on asylum housing, hundreds of thousands arriving unlawfully, and public services under strain, the UK is at a crossroads.

The Modern Party’s plan is realistic, humane, and uncompromising. It uses modern tools — from drone surveillance to offshore processing — and combines them with clear rules, public transparency, and legal pathways that reward merit and integration.

Britain needs borders it can defend, laws it can enforce, and an immigration system it can trust.

The solution is modern. The time is now. It’s time to take back control of our borders — with compassion, clarity, and courage.