Tory minister would back ICE-style crackdown in UK

Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration into the US on the Mexican border has been praised by shadow home secretary Chris Philp, who has said that such measures could work in the UK.

- ALEX ROSS

In a major overhaul of the US immigration system, Mr Trump moved to block asylum seekers from entering the country and fortified the Mexican border, as well as expanding the semi-militarised Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to target undocumented migrants.

In the UK, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch unveiled her party's immigration plan at the Conservative Party conference in October, with a plan to leave the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and introduce a ban on asylum claims for new illegal immigrants.

The Tories would also bring in a “removals force”, the party said, modelled on ICE, which has been criticised for heavy-handed tactics.

Speaking to The Independent, Mr Philp said: “We would come out of the ECHR, which will enable us to deport all illegal immigrants within a week of arrival and remove 150,000 people a year with no right to be here.