Major migration crackdown as special squads will deport foreign offenders

Immigration “crack squads” will be deployed to prisons to speed up deportations of foreign offenders. The special teams are being launched to stop dangerous figures from overseas returning to the streets of Britain.

The £5million will see staff sent to 80 jails with “one clear mission – speeding up the removal of prisoners who have no right to be in this country.”

Foreign offenders make up around 12% of the prison population at a time when there is strong concern about lack of spaces for new inmates. The Ministry of Justice says “deporting them sooner will help save taxpayers’ millions while easing the capacity crisis”. It boasts that 23% more foreign offenders have been removed since July last year compared to the same period in 2023.

James Timpson, the minister for prisons, probation and reducing reoffending, said: “It cannot be right for British taxpayers to foot the bill for jailing foreign criminals who have brought misery to our communities. Under this Government removals are up by nearly a quarter. We’re now taking action to ensure this is done swifter, easing pressure on overcrowded prisons and on the public purse.”

The cash will create 82 specialist roles to oversee removals from jails. They are expected to be in post by April 1.

Under the early removal scheme, foreign offenders can be deported up to 18 months before the end of their prison sentence. They can also be transferred to serve their sentences in their home country.

Since July 2024, 2,580 foreign criminals have been removed – an increase of almost a quarter on the same period a year earlier.