Yvette Cooper facing backlash over immigration crackdown as plans to ramp up deportations revealed
Support trulyindependent journalismFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorYvette Cooper is facing backlash over plans to reopen two troubled detention centres as part of a crackdown on immigration. On Wednesday, the home secretary announced a series of measures aimed at tackling illegal migration and improving border security, including a pledge to return the number of failed asylum seekers sent back to their home countries to 2018 levels over the next six months, meaning more than 14,000 deportations by the end of the year. However, the 14,000 figure is far lower than the 45,000 returned in 2010 under the former Labour government and less than the 19,000 migrants who have arrived in Britain by crossing the Channel in small boats so far this year.The government also revealed plans to increase detention capacity with 290 beds at two immigration removal centres, Campsfield in Kidlington, Oxfordshire, and Haslar in Gosport, Hampshire. But these plans are being criticised as a backwards step as both sites were plagued with problems before they shut in 2019 and 2015 respectively, including hunger strikes and suicides. Critics say the plans are a waste of taxpayer money, lack detail and fail to recognise “the dignity and humanity of migrants”, especially in the wake of recent racist riots that targeted hotels housing asylum seekers across the country.The home secretary Yvette Cooper has been accused of failing to get a grip on the issue More