Nigel Farage, leader of the UK’s Reform Party, announced on Saturday (August 22) that if his party comes to power, it will launch a program of mass deportations of migrants from Britain.
In an interview with The Times, Farage said he plans to withdraw the UK from the European Convention on Human Rights and sign agreements with countries such as Afghanistan to facilitate the return of undocumented migrants.
Last year alone, around 37,000 people—mainly from Afghanistan, Syria, Iran, Vietnam, and Eritrea—crossed the English Channel from France to Britain in small boats.
“We can either be kind, or we can be very tough… Trump proved this point completely,” Farage declared.
When asked whether he feared asylum seekers might face torture or death if deported to countries with poor human rights records, Farage responded that he was more concerned about the threat migrants posed to British citizens. “I cannot be responsible for authoritarian regimes around the world, but I can be responsible for the safety of women and girls on our own streets,” he said.
Farage’s plan would strip the right to seek asylum or appeal deportation from those who enter the UK by small boats.
Polls show that immigration and asylum are now the top public concerns in Britain, surpassing even economic issues.
Germany has already engaged with the Taliban on the deportation of Afghan migrants.
