UK home secretary Shabana Mahmood is set to unveil “the most sweeping reforms to tackle illegal immigration in modern times.”
It is said that the reforms will be based on Denmark's restrictive asylum policies as small boat crossings are persistent in the country despite increased deportation numbers.
The announcement comes as the Labour government seeks to address “excessive generosity” in the UK's asylum system that has made deportation more difficult.
As reported by officials, the reforms will majorly target the incentives that attract immigrants to Britain and the legal barriers that give them protection and prevention against their removal.
In a statement, Mahmood stated, “We’ve ramped up enforcement, deported foreign criminals from our streets, and saved taxpayers millions. I pledge today to scale up the removal and deportations of illegal migrants and do whatever it takes to secure our borders.”
The Home Office reported that an estimated 48,560 people have been removed from the UK since Labour took office. In comparison to the 16 months before last year’s election, it shows a 23% increase.
But this enforcement success rate was not celebrated as a 19% year-on-year increase in small boat crossings were observed with 39,075 people having made the dangerous channel journey so far in 2025.
Mahmood’s approach will be majorly following the elements of Denmark’s hardline system.
Denmark's policy includes processing asylum claims in third countries, making most residency permits temporary, and implementing strict family reunification rules. Implementing the said rules lead to a number of successful asylum claims reaching a 40-year low.
Hence, the Home Office is seeking to adopt the same policy by granting only temporary residence permits and delaying permanent status.
The officials visited Denmark last month to study policies that involve restricting family reunions and requiring refugees to prove years of employment and language fluency before qualifying for permanent residence.
Adding to this, a senior Home Official civil servant told MPs, “We are looking at a number of different international systems. The Danes have done some really quite innovative changes and reforms. They have got the numbers moving in a downward direction.”
It is also expected that the reforms will make changes to human rights legislation that would need judges to prioritize public safety over migrants’ rights to family life or protection from “inhuman” treatment in their home countries.
The government has also decided to overhaul modern slavery laws by requiring claims to be made immediately upon arrival instead of later in the process, which often delayed deportations.
While Denmark’s approach has dramatically reduced asylum numbers, it has drawn sharp criticism from human rights organizations and the United Nations (UN). Policies such as Denmark’s “ghetto law” have been highly criticized by the critics as it damages the country’s humanitarian values.