Britain’s new Labour Party government’s plan to grant effective amnesty to illegal immigrants could see over 40,000 foreigners added to the country’s welfare rolls, an internal government impact assessment reportedly found.
An evaluation from the Home Office of Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s plans to end the “duty to remove” illegal migrants to offshore asylum processing centres in third-party countries like Rwanda or their homelands could add tens of thousands of welfare recipients, the Daily Mail reports.
While over 63,000 illegal migrants had been set for removal by the previous Tory government, Starmer’s administration is reportedly set to grant over 44,000 asylum, effectively giving the illegals amnesty to remain in the country and allowing them “full access” to welfare benefits in Britain.
“Any asylum seekers who are granted asylum will have full access to, and obligation to contribute towards, the welfare system to support them while out of employment,” a Home Office document reportedly stated.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper claimed last month that ending the Rwanda and Duty to Remove schemes would save the taxpayer some £7 billion, however, according to estimates from Conservative MP Nick Timothy, the welfare cost of granting amnesty to the migrants could cost the country £17.8 billion over their lifetimes.
“Labour’s plan is to rush all these cases through the asylum system and then park migrants on benefits, hiding the tens of billions they will cost from the public,” Timothy said.
Responding to the report, former Tory immigration minister and Conservative Party leadership candidate Robert Jenrick said: “Sir Keir has surrendered to the people smuggling gangs with an amnesty for illegal migrants. And it’s the British taxpayer who will be made to pick up the eye-watering bill for his capitulation.
“Sir Keir’s decision will only add to the problem of waiting lists for GP surgeries, the shortage of social housing and pressure on school places. Instead of prioritising Brits, Labour is set to overwhelm local authorities with tens of thousands more illegal migrants they should have instead removed.”
A Labour spokesman said: “This scenario does not match with reality. Under the Tories, everyone who arrived here, no matter what their nationality was staying permanently in taxpayer-funded accommodation, including asylum hotels, with absolutely no prospect of removal. Carrying on like this would have cost us £30-40 billion – double our policing budget.
“Figures released last week show that their chaotic approach has created a record asylum backlog – over 220,000 are now in the asylum system.”
It comes as another 526 illegal migrants crossed the English Channel from France on Tuesday, taking the total for the year above 20,000, according to calculations from GB News. More than 6,000 illegals have reportedly landed on British shores since Starmer’s Labour Party took power last month.
Writing on Wednesday morning, Reform UK leader and MP Nigel Farage remarked that “526 people crossed the Channel yesterday. As I write, 11 boats are mid-Channel, yet not a word from our Prime Minister.”