Labour is considering plans to deport failed asylum seekers to “return hubs” in the Balkans, as the number of migrants crossing the channel in 2025 surges above 5,000.
This move would see the asylum seekers sent to countries such as Albania, Serbia, Bosnia and North Macedonia where they would be placed in detention centres.
Britain would pay the countries for each person relocated, according to plans drawn up by the Government.
Sir Keir Starmer’s party has been facing growing pressure to tackle the small boats crisis as the number of migrants who have made the channel journey in 2024 has grown by 24 per cent since this time last year.
ir Keir Starmer’s party is facing growing pressure to tackle the small boats crisis
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Earlier this month, human traffickers took advantage of calm conditions on the Channel, bringing over more than 1,100 migrants in just four days.
Meanwhile, around 42,000 asylum seekers are being housed in the UK while they wait for appeal hearings after the Home Office rejected their initial claims.
The idea of “return hubs” received support this week from the UN’s International Organisation for Migration, who said it would “advise and assist” nations with their plans.
There are currently two empty migration detention centres in Albania, after Italian plans to use them for migrants fell through.
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The detention centres could be filled with rejected asylum seekers from countries ruled unsafe under UK law, such as Afghanistan and Iran.
They would also temporarily house rejected asylum seekers from countries deemed safe, before they are sent back home.
Labour has faced intense scrutiny over its decision to discard the Conservative’s Rwanda asylum deal, which would remove migrants once their appeals were rejected.
This scheme would differ from the Rwanda deportation scheme, which intended to send illegal migrants there before their case was even heard.
A return hub in Rwanda was reportedly ruled out because Labour does not view it as a safe country
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A return hub in Rwanda is thought to have been ruled out because Labour does not view it as a safe country.
In addition, there are no detention centres for migrants in the East-African country, and they would instead be housed in hotels and housing developments.
Speaking to The Times, a Government source said: “This is clearly a shared challenge right across the world and we’ve always said this international problem needs an international solution.”
“That’s why we’re looking at the widest possible set of options with a completely open mind. Any scheme we’d consider would always need to meet the test of being affordable, workable and legal.”
