Blogs
We publish blogs that draw on data and research, and through them we inform debate, spark discussion, and explore the wider implications of current developments.
Analysis, Commentary and Research Updates
Explore our latest publications on immigration and asylum policies. Stay informed with well-researched insights.
Don’t Be Fooled – This Government Is Not In Control Of Illegal Immigration
The Home Office today (9th September) issued a press release titled, ‘For the first time, small boat migrants arriving in the UK face being detained and returned to France’. Promising title – but is it…
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Cutting Student Visas: Bringing Migration Under Control
The numbers speak for themselves. In 2024, student visas accounted for 45% of all UK entry visas issued – the single largest route for legal migration. This surge is no accident. In 2019, ministers set…
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Migration Is Changing Your Area – Just Look At These Numbers.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) released its official estimates for the population of England and Wales yesterday, and the results make for dire reading. Already the headlines are coming in thick and fast: “Migration fuels population…
Learn MoreA Shocking Year, Strewn With Failure. Pull Your Socks up or go!
It’s been exactly one year since Labour won the 2024 General Election. Given that “immigration and asylum” was the second-most important issue for voters at the time – and by far the most important issue for Conservative…
Learn MoreWar In Iran Will Only Make Britain’s Migration Crisis Worse
The regional fallouts of the conflict engulfing Iran are yet to reveal themselves, but one catastrophic consequence is definitely not in doubt: Britain’s migration crisis will further deepen. Iran is already the nation from which…
Learn MoreIs The Prime Minister’s Plan Working?
Can the government stop the boats? Speaking in Dover today, the Prime Minister gave an update on his pledge to stop small boats crossing the English Channel. Illegal crossings, he said, are down 20 per…
Learn MoreA Passage From India – Explaining The Unexpected Rise Of Indians Crossing The Channel
This week the government disclosed that in 2023 Indians have been the second largest group of people illegally crossing the English Channel in small boats, making up 18 per cent of all crossings. Although the increase…
Learn MoreFrom Baghdad To Bournemouth – Granting Refuge To Terrorists
It emerged in the Daily Mail recently that among those who illegally entered the UK in a dinghy last year were 19 suspected terrorists, several of whom are thought to have been members of the…
Learn MoreDoes Britain Think Immigration Is Too High?
Polling is central to modern politics. For governments, it is a means of testing public reaction to policies. More and more nowadays it is done with focus groups to test the popularity or otherwise of…
Learn MoreOur Written Evidence On The Government’s Proposed Asylum Reforms
The government announced changes to the immigration and asylum system in March 2021. See the Home Secretary’s statement to Parliament on the government’s proposals. A policy statement is available here. Migration Watch UK welcomes the government’s renewed efforts to deter illegal immigration and tackle asylum abuse. Illegal entry is “most common method
Official Statistics Body May Have Under-counted Net Immigration Of Foreigners By 380,000 (2011-20)
The Office for National Statistics has produced experimental research which estimatedthat net immigration from overseas to the UK in the year to June 2020 was just over 282,000. Here are the key takeaways of the experimental and provisional research methodology which the ONS hopes to deploy for future estimates: The ONS arrived
100,000+ Convictions For Not Paying Television Licence Fee But Fewer Than 50 For Illegal Entry
There were 114,000 convictions of UK residents for TV licence fee evasion in 2019 (Ministry of Justice data). In contrast there have been less than 50 convictions for illegal entry or overstaying under Section 24 of the Immigration Act 1971 in each of the past four years (2018-2021). The statute book is
Failure To Secure Border Threatens You And Your Family
Asylum chaos and law enforcement failures threaten YOU and YOUR FAMILY. Illegal entries have skyrocketed in 2021 and almost everyone arriving deliberately destroys their identity documentation so there is limited means of ever finding out who most people really are. This is the major security concern stemming from the massive rise in illegal
Illegal Entries Rose Even As Global Travel Was Restricted During Pandemic
The government has detailed its proposals for tackling abuse of the asylum system in a new policy statementissued late last month. It includes news that nearly 50,000 people who were detected having illegally arrived in the UK by various means (see below and Home Office policy statement, March 2021). The document confirms
Alarming Rise In Abuse Of Modern Slavery Laws
Two in three modern slavery referrals made by foreign nationals in detention that were concluded between 2017 and 2019 were rejected. This rejection rate increased from 65% in 2017 to 70% in 2019. Table 1- Outcomes of modern slavery referrals from detention (HO analysis, Mar 2021). The news comes as