65 Percent of Illegal Immigrants Facing Deportation Claim to Be Modern Slavery Victims

An inflatable craft carrying illegal immigrants crosses the shipping lane in the English Channel off the coast of Dover, England, on Aug. 4, 2022. Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Most illegal immigrants arriving in the UK by small boats who were detained for removal have claimed they were victims of modern slavery, Home Office figures show.

Such claims would delay the deportation until a decision is made on their modern slavery claims.

According to data released by the Home Office on Thursday, in 2021, among the 404 illegal immigrants detained for return after arriving in the UK on a small boat, 294 (73 percent) were referred to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM)—a system designed to identify potential victims of modern slavery and human trafficking.

During January to September 2022, 1,305 illegal immigrants were detained for return, leading to an even greater number of referrals to the NRM (842 people), albeit a slightly smaller proportion (65 percent).

This is a large increase from earlier years, the Home Office said. In 2019, just 6 percent of the 831 people detained for return were referred to the NRM while in detention (50 people).

A Home Office analysis said: “In recent years there has been an increase in the number and proportion of people referred to the NRM while awaiting return.”

The analysis added: “A referral to the NRM protects the person from return until after a modern slavery decision is made and, in most cases, the person is released from detention for the recovery and reflection period and conclusive grounds decision process.

“This suggests that the prospect of having to leave the UK may act as a trigger for people to raise issues related to modern slavery, or that enforcement processes may help first responders identify potential victims.”

‘Gaming the System’

The Modern Slavery Act was introduced by former Prime Minister Theresa May during her time as home secretary in order to protect vulnerable people from exploitation, domestic servitude, or being trafficked for sex.

But UK government ministers have expressed concerns the system is being abused, allowing immigrants to remain in the UK.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman delivers a speech on policing at the Public Safety Foundation think tank in central London, on April 26, 2023. Stefan Rousseau/PA Media

At the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham in October, Home Secretary Suella Braverman told party members that the UK’s modern slavery laws are “being abused by people gaming the system,” citing a 450 percent increase in modern slavery claims since 2014—many of which she said “are lies”—and anecdotes of foreign sex offenders blocking their removal by making modern slavery claims.

In November, more than 50 Conservative MPs signed a letter to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak demanding emergency legislation be introduced to amend modern slavery laws.

The signatories said that “people claiming they have been unwilling victims of human trafficking or modern slavery” should be sent back to their home countries.

“If they have really been taken against their will, then they could not reasonably object to being returned to their own homes,” the letter added.

“The quirks in our modern slavery laws that prevent this are clearly in defiance of the aims of that law and should be removed,” the letter stated.

Under the government’s Illegal Migration Bill, which cleared the House of Commons last month, people who arrive in the UK illegally will be detained and then promptly removed, either to their home country or a safe third country such as Rwanda.

If the bill becomes law, challenges based on modern slavery laws will be barred, and any other legal attempt by illegal immigrants to stay would be heard overseas, after they have been removed.

But some politicians, including May, have warned that a tightening of rules could create extra problems and undermine protections for victims.

New Record

The number of people referred to the NRM in the first three months of this year was the highest since the scheme started in 2009, the Home Office said.

A total of 4,746 people were referred to the Home Office from January to March, the new figures show.

That is an increase of 26 percent from 3,773 in the first quarter of 2022 and a rise of 7 percent in the period from October to December.

Detainees inside the Manston short-term holding centre for illegal immigrants wave to members of the media outside, near Ramsgate, Kent, southeast England, on Nov. 3, 2022. Daniel Leal /AFP via Getty Images

Albanian nationals accounted for almost a third (31 percent) of all claimants, making up 1,452 of the total number.

The Home Office said referrals for Albanian nationals reached the highest number and proportion since the NRM began.

According to government figures released in November, 91 percent of Albanian small boat arrivals who claimed to be victims of modern slavery had been allowed to stay in the UK pending a full investigation of their claims.

According to the figures, the average application took 561 days to process, during which time the illegal immigrants are offered accommodation, food, legal aid, and counselling.

Alp Mehmet, chairman of Migration Watch, said last year that illegal immigrants and people traffickers are taking advantage of a “huge loophole” in UK legislation.

“The government has no option but to plug this gaping hole, and do it quickly,” he said.

PA Media contributed to this report.