One day ahead of the next quarterly asylum statistics release, the Home Secretary has announced “New measures to boost Britain’s border security”. These new measures include:

• up to 100 new specialist intelligence and investigations officers deployed to the National Crime Agency (NCA) to disrupt and smash criminal smuggling gangs and prevent dangerous boat crossings
• a large surge in enforcement and returns flights, with the aim of putting removals at their highest level since 2018, reversing the damaging drop in enforcement over recent years
• increased detention capacity including 290 added beds at Campsfield and Haslar Immigration Removal Centres 
• redeployment of staff to drive this increase in returns 
• sanctions to be taken against unscrupulous employers who hire workers illegally

Increasing detention makes no sense given that most people are released back into the community and we know that detention actively causes serious harm to people. Without a functioning legal aid system, people who came to the UK seeking safety will be returned to danger. Without alternative ways of coming to the UK, increased security will simply push people into taking more dangerous journeys to get here, leading to more deaths. This is nowhere near good enough.

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