A fresh crackdown on asylum seekers crossing the Channel is on the way to make clear that the UK is not “a soft touch”, the immigration minister has said.
Robert Jenrick also attacked international students, accusing them of using their studies as “a backdoor way of bringing their families into the UK” and putting further “strain” on public services.
But he also admitted that there is no quick solution to the small boats crisis – amid rising Tory panic over the issue – saying: “This is a problem that could be with us for many years to come.”
The home secretary, Suella Braverman, will unveil new proposals next week to curb the numbers crossing the Channel, with the total for 2022 tipped to reach 50,000 by the year’s end.
Ahead of the announcement, Mr Jenrick stated: “We have to recreate our immigration system so that it’s fit for purpose. That will mean creating a system where deterrence is [central to] the whole thing.
“It will also mean looking at how we treat people on arrival, so that nobody thinks that coming to the UK is a soft touch, and the UK is not a better site for asylum shoppers than our EU neighbour.”
No 10 is also known to be considering tougher rules in relation to the dependants of people who are studying in the UK, but Mr Jenrick went further, questioning the motives of those undertaking studies.
“There are people coming to universities here as a backdoor way of bringing their families into the UK and staying here for a prolonged period,” he told GB News. “A very significant number of people use this as a route to a life in the UK. This is a big driver of net migration.
“We can all see there might be some benefits to the economy and to society, but I start from the point that we’re a relatively small country; there is a lack of housing; public services are under considerable strain at the moment.”
Ms Braverman is seeking a better returns deal with Albania to enable the rapid removal of asylum seekers whose claims fail, after a big rise in young men arriving from the country. But applicants from countries with a high success rate – such as Afghanistan and Syria – could see the requirements eased, with no more follow-up assessments after initial security and identity checks have been undertaken.
Mr Jenrick hinted that the crackdown may take some time to put in place, saying: “We’ve only been in our jobs for four weeks and we haven’t come to firm conclusions.”
On the subject of students, he said: “We’ve got very liberal rules on students bringing their family members with them, and that is something that we are interested in reviewing.
“It’s right that if you came here to do a PhD, and are staying in the UK for a long time, that you might be able to bring your spouse with you, but the figures that I’ve seen in the last few weeks in this job suggest that the problem is much bigger than that.”
