• The Labour government plans a surge in returning irregular migrants to countries.
• The interior ministry has issued a £15 million ($19.7 million) contract to find commercial partners.
• Over 20,000 migrants have arrived in the UK this year after crossing from France on rudimentary vessels.

Britain’s Labour government is planning “a major surge” in returning irregular migrants to countries such as Iraq, an official announced Thursday, as it works to address an asylum backlog. The interior ministry has issued a contract to find commercial partners to assist with the “reintegration” of individuals who have no right to live in the UK back into their home countries.

Last week, the interior ministry published a £15 million ($19.7 million) contract over three years, which the Financial Times first reported on Thursday. The advertisement states that the ministry is looking to identify suitable reintegration delivery providers to assist with the return of migrants from the UK to 11 different countries.

The countries involved are Albania, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Iraq, Jamaica, Nigeria, Pakistan, Vietnam, and Zimbabwe. Contractors will provide food packs, assist in tracing family members, and support access to job markets, among other tasks, according to the bid notice.

Last week, Interior Minister Yvette Cooper announced that the government aims to achieve the highest rate of deportations of failed asylum seekers in five years over the next six months. According to UK media reports, the goal is to remove more than 14,000 people by the end of the year.

“The government is planning to deliver a major surge in immigration enforcement and returns activity to remove people with no right to be in the UK and ensure the rules are respected and enforced,” a ministry spokesperson said in a statement.

“Continued international cooperation with partner nations plays a critical role in this, and we will be working closely with a number of countries across the globe as part of the mission to end irregular migration.”

Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who was elected early last month, has pledged to “smash the gangs” of people smugglers bringing irregular migrants to Britain on small boats across the Channel. According to the latest figures, more than 20,000 migrants have arrived in the UK this year after crossing from France on rudimentary vessels.

This figure is slightly higher than last year’s data for the same period but lower than in 2022. Refugee charities have urged the government to establish more safe routes to discourage people from undertaking the dangerous journey. Official figures released last week revealed that nearly 119,000 people were waiting for a decision on their asylum application at the end of June 2024.

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