Nigel Farage, the leader of the UK Independence Party, known as the 'British Trump' and the architect of Brexit (the UK's withdrawal from the European Union), announced an extremely strict immigration policy that would deport 600,000 illegal immigrants if he comes to power.
According to the BBC, Farage held a news conference in Oxford, England, on the 26th (local time), where he revealed the immigration policy named 'Operation Restoring Justice.' The core of this policy is to deport a maximum of 600,000 illegal immigrants within a five-year term and to withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
He stated that to implement this plan, he would abolish the British Human Rights Act and exclude the application of all international treaties that guarantee the rights of asylum seekers, including the United Nations Refugee Convention. The plan also includes provisions to immediately detain all individuals entering illegally, regardless of whether they are women or children.
It is difficult to dismiss Farage as a mere far-right politician. The party he leads, the UK Independence Party, has recorded approval ratings of around 30% in various polls since July, creating a surge. They rank first in approval ratings, surpassing both the ruling Labor Party and the main opposition Conservative Party. As their momentum grows, several senior members of the Conservative Party have recently joined the UK Independence Party. The political landscape in the UK, previously divided between the Conservative Party and the center-left Labor Party, is being shaken from its roots.
The rise of the UK Independence Party is rooted in the accumulated anti-immigrant sentiment in British society. According to the British polling agency Ipsos, last month, the top concern for British voters was immigration (42%), surpassing economic issues (30%). This indicates that the conflict regarding immigrants in British society is perceived to be more urgent than economic problems.
Last year, the number of asylum seekers in the UK was 108,100, an increase of nearly 20% from the previous year. The majority were from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, and Bangladesh. As of June this year, the number of pending asylum applications awaiting review reached 224,742. The UK Independence Party claimed that if undocumented individuals are included, the actual number of illegal immigrants could reach 1 million. There have been continuous attempts to illegally enter the UK from France in small boats, with 28,288 individuals detected this year alone, the highest number ever, marking a 46% increase compared to the same period last year. The current Labor Party government led by Keir Starmer has pledged to crack down on smuggling operations and expedite the asylum application process, but it has not achieved significant results.
In mid this month, a male asylum seeker from Eritrea was charged with attempting to force a kiss on a teenage girl in the Epping area, on the outskirts of London. This incident ignited clashes between anti-immigrant protesters and opposing civic organizations in the UK. Farage seized on this point to stir voter anxiety. He stated, 'The entire country is in a state of despair and anger,' adding, 'A large-scale threat to social order is becoming a reality.'
The UK Independence Party announced that if they come to power, they will establish repatriation agreements with countries from which most asylum seekers originate, such as Afghanistan, Iran, and Eritrea. Instead of accepting asylum seekers into the UK, they intend to send them back to their home countries. In exchange for cooperation, they offer tens of billions of pounds to the repatriation countries. Additionally, they proposed a plan for mass deportations through five charter flights daily. The UK Independence Party stated they would invest 10 billion pounds (about 17 trillion won) over five years to implement this plan. Farage added that 'If you come illegally to the UK, you will be detained and deported, and you will never be allowed to stay' and emphasized, 'Detention and repatriation of all must be implemented to stop the boats immediately.'
Opposition groups and human rights organizations rebutted that 'Britain will become a human rights outsider, no different from Russia or Belarus,' deeming Farage's plan unrealistic. If the UK withdraws from the European Convention on Human Rights, it could have a ripple effect on various security and trade agreements with European countries. The expenses could also exceed the budget projected by the UK Independence Party. While the party estimated the cost at 10 billion pounds over five years, the right-leaning UK think tank Centre for Migration Control estimated that a similar plan would require nearly five times that amount, 47.5 billion pounds (about 81 trillion won). Additionally, negotiating with countries such as Afghanistan, Iran, and Eritrea, where the UK has maintained hostile relations, presents another significant challenge.
Experts predict that if the UK abandons its long-standing tradition of 'immigrant tolerance' and shifts to a stringent policy like the United States, it could trigger the spread of anti-immigrant sentiment across Europe. In the past, radical claims like 'mass deportation' were taboo in British politics. The international community has long upheld the non-refoulement principle, which stipulates that refugees should not be forcibly returned to countries where they are at risk of persecution. However, strict immigration policies have now emerged as part of mainstream political discourse in the UK. Peter Walsh, a senior researcher at the University of Oxford's Migration Research Institute, told Reuters, 'If the UK Independence Party's policy is implemented, it will lead to sending asylum seekers back to countries at risk of torture, marking one of the most radical attempts in Europe in recent decades.'