(MENAFN) The UK government revealed on Monday an extensive set of asylum reforms aimed at significantly restricting access to refugee status and expanding the use of enforced removals for families.

In a freshly released 32-page report, Prime Minister Keir Starmer cautioned that rising global instability and record migration levels have placed the system under “severe strain,” prompting what he calls a “stronger deterrent” strategy for border management.

In the foreword of the report, Starmer remarked that the “world has changed,” highlighting growing conflicts and a sharp surge in worldwide migration. He noted, “Our asylum system was not designed to cope with this,” adding that current regulations did not anticipate people “travelling through multiple safe countries before seeking to cross the English Channel by boat.”

He further contended that the UK’s current system “is a significant pull factor” and is “more permissive than the European mainstream,” suggesting the nation now requires “a stronger deterrent effect and rules that are robustly enforced.”

Despite these stricter measures, Starmer emphasized that the UK continues to be a “decent, compassionate, tolerant country,” stressing that public trust in the system must be restored so those “genuinely fleeing danger and persecution” can still be welcomed.

The document highlights that the government does not “currently prioritize the return of families,” warning that delays in doing so may create “perverse incentives.”

To tackle this issue, the administration plans to provide financial support to encourage families to return to their countries of origin and pursue enforced removals for those who refuse.

A consultation process will also be initiated to determine how family removals should be conducted, including cases involving children, who will not be separated from their parents during deportation.

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