UK deportations reach highest level since 2016, Home Office says

The UK has removed more than 80,000 people since the 2024 general election, marking a 52% increase compared with the two years before the election, the Home Office said.

The figures include foreign national offenders, immigration offenders and people who were in the UK illegally, Caliber.Az reports, citing British media.

Deportations have reached their highest level since 2016, according to the government.

Of the total returns, 24,471 were asylum-related, while 6,103 involved migrants who had arrived in the UK by small boat. A further 11,733 were foreign national offenders.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said:

"This is a vital step in our effort to restore control to our border and make our migration system fairer for all.

"These new statistics send a message. We will always welcome those who come here legally and seek to build a better life. But if you come here illegally or you break our laws, we will send you home.

"I know there is more to be done. That is why we are pursuing new legislation that will more swiftly remove those here illegally, and we are doubling funding to our immigration enforcement teams by 2028."

The government said the figures form part of efforts to strengthen immigration enforcement and accelerate the removal of people without the right to remain in the UK.

By Aghakazim Guliyev