Shabana Mahmood has put herself on a collision course with Labor MPs after announcing a series of changes to the immigration system which one MP said mimicked Donald Trump and another claimed would lead to a Windrush-style scandal.
The Home Secretary announced her plans on Thursday, including ending permanent refugee status and removing government support for asylum seekers deemed not to need it or breaking the law.
It also launched a pilot project to pay 150 families whose asylum claims have been rejected up to £40,000 each to voluntarily leave the country or face forced removal at the hands of law enforcement officials. Those families have been contacted and have seven days to decide whether to accept or reject the offer.
In a speech in central London, Mahmood said: “The generosity of the British people will be conditional on asylum seekers following the law, living by our rules and not working.
“Taxpayer-funded housing will be reserved for those who have no right to work and who would otherwise be left destitute, like any British citizen. Rights must be accompanied by responsibilities, and British taxpayers cannot be expected to fund the lives of those who refuse.”
He said the proposals were necessary to restore control at the border and combat the growing appeal of far-right parties such as Reform UK. “If we don’t solve these problems, others who don’t have any of our values will have the opportunity to do so,” he said.
The plans sparked an immediate reaction from Labor MPs, who said they were unfair and risked further alienating central Labor support after last week’s damaging election defeat to the Greens.
Tony Vaughan, Labor MP for Folkestone and Hythe, organized a letter which he said had been signed by 100 of his party colleagues, saying the proposals undermined the government’s commitment to integration and social cohesion.
He said: “We can improve our immigration system without forgetting who we are as a Labor Party.
“You don’t restore public trust in the asylum system by threatening to forcibly remove refugees who have lived here legally for 15 or 20 years. That only creates insecurity and fractured communities.”
Stella Creasy, MP for Walthamstow, echoed his sentiments, saying: “There is no ‘justice’ in spending money repeatedly asking victims of trafficking and civil war if they are still in that category, especially when we have already granted them refugee status so we have confirmed that they are at risk of harm.
“Both Ukrainians, Iranians (and) Afghans will now live in a perpetual state of limbo, unable to plan any kind of life here or in their home country because they cannot guarantee their status, which will also make them easier to exploit. I look forward to reading the NAO (National Audit Office) report and the inevitable Windrush-style scandal that none of us set out to implement in a manifesto.”
Sarah Owen, leader of the Tribune group of centre-left Labor MPs, said: “Of course we need an immigration system that is credible and fair, but what has been touted by the Home Office meets neither criteria.
“The idea of deporting children mimics Trump’s ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) detention of children.
“Moving the targets for people who have improved their lives to work in and for our country is unjustifiable. This, and the language in which it is being expressed, will only have negative implications on our economy, integration and social cohesion, at a time when communities are already stretched to the limit.
“This is the wrong direction politically and morally, as a party and as a country.”
Labor MPs are now preparing for a possible Commons rebellion over the issue. While some of Mahmood’s plans, including reviewing people’s refugee status every 30 months, can be implemented without a parliamentary vote, others will require the consent of MPs.
On Thursday, the Home Secretary introduced three secondary laws that will allow her to withdraw support for asylum seekers who receive criminal sentences of 12 months or more, or who are working or considered to have enough money to support themselves. Labor MPs now have 40 days to oppose those proposals and force a formal vote on the issue.
Later this year, Mahmood plans to introduce separate legislation to make it harder for some people to gain settled status in the UK. Some people (for example benefit claimants) will have to wait 10 years before becoming eligible, double the current time.
Refugee groups criticized the plans on Thursday. Mubeen Bhutta, policy director at the British Red Cross, said: “There is little evidence to suggest that making life more difficult deters people from coming to the UK, when they have been forced to flee their homes.”
Others criticized the proposal to forcibly remove families – including children – who reject the government’s offer to leave voluntarily.
Labor opposed the extension of child detention powers in the Illegal Migration Act 2023 when they were in opposition and the government removed these powers from the statute book in 2025.
Imran Hussain, executive director of communications at the Refugee Council, said: “Giving families just seven days to decide whether to uproot their children’s lives, often without access to adequate legal advice, risks creating chaos rather than control.
“Many families simply do not feel safe returning to their home countries. And no one wants to see distraught children detained and forced to take deportation flights.”
