Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Keir Starmer has launched a sweeping crackdown on immigration, announcing tough new visa rules and claiming that his government has already returned over 24,000 people with no legal right to remain in the UK.
In a fiery Monday (May 12) speech, the Labour Party leader declared an end to a “squalid chapter” and a “failed experiment in open borders,” vowing to “take back control” of Britain’s borders. The move has sparked intense controversy, with critics accusing Starmer of echoing far-right rhetoric, while opposition figures argue the measures are too weak to curb migration effectively.
Starmer’s proposals, which await parliamentary approval, target legal migration—the primary source of arrivals to the UK—by imposing stringent barriers to work, family, and student visas. Framing the reforms as vital to restoring social cohesion and prioritising British workers, Starmer warned against Britain becoming “an island of strangers.”
New Rules to Curb Migration
He also highlighted his administration’s deportation efforts, stating, “I’ve already returned over 24,000 people with no right to be here,” signalling a robust enforcement approach.
The key measures include:
1) Tougher Visa Standards: Higher-level English proficiency tests will be required for certain work visas, emphasising integration.
2) Extended Citizenship Wait: The residency requirement for citizenship will increase from five to ten years, forcing immigrants to spend longer on costly temporary visas.
3) Restrictions on Foreign Hiring: Employers will face limits on recruiting overseas workers, particularly for low-skilled jobs, to bolster local employment.
4) Expanded Visa Waivers: Travellers from visa-exempt countries must now purchase an online visa waiver before boarding UK-bound flights.
In a policy paper, Starmer described immigration’s impact as “incalculable” damage to the nation, a phrase that has drawn sharp criticism for its alleged inflammatory tone.
Far-Right Gains and Post-Brexit Fallout
The announcement follows significant electoral gains by the far-right Reform UK Party, led by Nigel Farage, a close ally of US President Donald Trump, in recent local elections across England. The surge in anti-immigration sentiment has piled pressure on Starmer’s Labour government to act decisively.
Official data reveals net migration to the UK has tripled over the past decade, with Indian nationals topping the list of visa recipients and a recent spike in American citizenship applications, driven by post-Brexit uncertainties.
Madeleine Sumption, director of the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford, explained the reforms as a reaction to a post-Brexit immigration surge.
“The previous Conservative government introduced a surprisingly liberal system after Brexit, leading to an unexpected migration boom,” she said. “Starmer’s government is now reversing those liberalisations, aligning the system closer to pre-Brexit rules for non-EU citizens.” Sumption projects a 10 per cent drop in visa issuances, though immigrants will face higher costs due to prolonged temporary statuses, generating revenue for public services like healthcare and skills training.
Starmer’s focus on legal migration and deportations marks a departure from his predecessors’ emphasis on illegal migration, exemplified by the now-scrapped Rwanda deportation plan, which was struck down by courts and abandoned after Starmer’s election victory over Rishi Sunak last summer.
While public support for tackling illegal migration, particularly Channel crossings, remains strong, polls show resistance to cutting migrant worker visas, especially in sectors like nursing homes, exposing a potential misalignment with Starmer’s policies.
Starmer’s rhetoric has triggered a fierce backlash, with migrant advocates and Labour allies accusing him of stoking division. Steve Smith, CEO of Care4Calais, condemned the prime minister’s language as “dangerous,” warning that it “risks fueling far-right violence and race riots, endangering survivors of war and torture.” He demanded an apology.
Dissent within Labour has been stark. MP Nadia Whittome accused Starmer of “mimicking far-right scaremongering,” while Zarah Sultana suggested the speech could have been written by Farage. John McDonnell, a former Labour MP suspended last year alongside Sultana, likened Starmer’s “island of strangers” phrase to the “divisive” rhetoric of Enoch Powell’s 1968 “Rivers of Blood” speech, a notorious benchmark of inflammatory political discourse.
India’s Parallel Crackdown and Western Bias
India has intensified its efforts to combat illegal immigration, particularly from neighbouring Bangladesh, drawing parallels to Starmer’s hardline stance. On May 14, 2025, the first batch of Bangladeshi immigrants detained for residing illegally in India was deported from Jodhpur, marking a significant step in the country’s enforcement drive.
Over the past year, Indian authorities have detained thousands of suspected illegal immigrants, with Gujarat alone identifying 450 undocumented Bangladeshis and deporting 193 in recent months. In Delhi, police dismantled a trafficking network, apprehending 47 Bangladeshi nationals and five Indian collaborators who facilitated fake identity documents. These actions, fueled by concerns over national security and demographic changes, reflect India’s zero-tolerance policy, with Gujarat’s Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghavi calling the crackdown a “historic victory.”
However, India’s deportation efforts have faced scrutiny from Western media, which critics argue has attempted to frame the issue as communal rather than a matter of legality. Operations targeting predominantly Muslim slums, such as Ahmedabad’s Chandola Lake area, have been portrayed as anti-Muslim, despite police relying on document verification, interrogations, and satellite imagery to identify illegal immigrants.
Indian officials maintain that the crackdown addresses security threats, including links to drug cartels and terrorism, and is not religiously motivated. The Gujarat High Court’s refusal to halt demolitions of illegal encroachments further underscores the legal basis of these actions, rejecting claims of communal targeting.
Critics in India argue that Western media’s focus on religious narratives overlooks the broader issue of unauthorised migration, which has strained resources and sparked tensions in border states like Assam and West Bengal.
