Following recent pronouncements on stricter legal migration, the Prime Minister shifted focus to illegal immigration during a visit to Albania.
Albania represents a notable success in the challenging realm of curbing illegal migration.
While approximately 12,500 Albanians crossed the English Channel in 2022, numbers have since drastically decreased.
Initiatives by both the previous and current governments, aimed at deterring crossings and facilitating migrant returns, have yielded significant results.
Sir Keir Starmer, aiming to highlight this inherited success, made history as the first British Prime Minister to officially visit Albania.
He also underscored ongoing negotiations with several unnamed European nations for the temporary relocation of failed asylum seekers who have exhausted all UK appeals.
Downing Street clarified that this measure would prevent asylum seekers from delaying deportation through various tactics, including the loss of paperwork or delaying tactics.
The Prime Minister’s spokesperson added this would also prevent individuals from obstructing removal through actions such as starting a family.
This proposal bears resemblance to the previous government’s Rwanda plan, albeit with key differences.
The Conservatives’ plan aimed to send migrants to Rwanda immediately upon arrival in the UK for asylum claims, arguing for a radical policy shift to deter crossings.
Labour, deeming it an expensive failure, subsequently abandoned the plan.
Now, they are promoting their own, more limited approach.
However, the choice of location proved ironic. Albania, the backdrop for this announcement, has explicitly stated no further agreements beyond existing ones with Italy.
This was made clear by Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama immediately after Sir Keir Starmer’s proposal, emphasizing existing agreements with Italy.
Downing Street maintained that this bilateral agreement with Albania was never part of the discussions.
In essence, the policy announcement mismatched the setting and context.
The Conservatives, despite their own mixed record on small boat crossings, highlighted this incongruity, labeling it an “embarrassment” for Labour.
This incident underscores the immense difficulty in crafting effective, practical solutions to a multifaceted, large-scale issue that demands immediate government attention.
Somehow.
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