The UK Government has been criticised for changing the language it uses in statements and publicity around migrants.
Messages sent out by the Home Office on X used the term “irregular” migration instead of “illegal”, which led to complaints from politicians who suggested the party was attempting to “bury” the issue.
In a social media post, Reform MP Richard Tice suggested this was a “downgrade”.
Labour downgrade illegal migration to irregular. It is illegal. They are breaking the law. British people fuming about the boats & will not tolerate this fudge
Ferret Fact Service looked at this claim and found it Mostly False.
Evidence
A post from the Home Office account on X set out the priorities of new home secretary Yvette Cooper.
It read “We are taking control of irregular migration” and listed “speeding up asylum processing”, “launching a border security command” and “working with international partners to strike new returns”.
The word “irregular” was seized upon by some on social media, including Reform’s leader Nigel Farage and MP Richard Tice.
Irregular vs illegal?
There is not a universally agreed definition of irregular migration, but it is usually used to describe migrants coming into a country through routes that are not formalised.
This could be entering a country then overstaying on a visa, for example, or using forged documents at customs. Entering via a small boat crossing the English Channel is a widely-publicised irregular route for migrants.
The previous Conservative government used the term “illegal migration” regularly in public communications and in parliament, but “irregular” was used in official statistics released by the Home Office.
How many people come to the UK through irregular routes?
In the year up to March 2024, 38,546 people arrived in the UK through irregular routes. This was 28 per cent lower than in the previous year. Of these arrivals, 81 per cent came in small boats crossing the channel. Such crossings have been the most common method of irregular migration since 2020.
According to the Home Office, this was likely due to the Covid-19 pandemic making “other methods of entry, such as air or ferry, less viable”. Other experts have suggested the increase is down to the tightening of other methods of entry. Small boats are more likely to be recorded as they are the most visible type of irregular entry to the UK.
Are irregular migrants breaking the law?
Richard Tice’s post states irregular migrants are “breaking the law”. This is true in some instances. The Nationality and Borders Act 2022 states that entering the UK without valid permissions is punishable up to four years in prison.
However, the rules are different if you are claiming asylum in the UK.
Under laws set out by the United Nations, that the UK signed up to, refugees cannot be penalised for entering a country through an irregular route, as long as they contact the proper authorities as soon as possible and show they had good reason for entering through an unofficial route.
Currently, the UK does not have regular routes for those seeking asylum, aside from a few schemes covering specific countries and issues, such as Ukraine, Hong Kong and Afghanistan.
Outside of these schemes, there is no way for an asylum seeker to apply for refuge from outside the UK, meaning irregular routes, including crossing the channel in small boats, are one of the only ways to get to the UK if someone intends to apply for asylum.
Refugees are allowed to apply for asylum in any country which is signed up to the UN’s 1951 refugee convention.
How many irregular migrants apply for refugee status?
In the year to March 2024, 99 per cent of those who arrived in small boats claimed asylum in the UK. Since 2018, 93 per cent of small boat arrivals have made an asylum claim.
Between 2018 and March 2023, 72 per cent of those who had an asylum decision were granted refugee status. In the last year, asylum decisions were effectively paused due to new government rules.
The majority of those who claimed asylum since 2018 were still waiting for a decision in March 2024.
The Illegal Migration Act
Legislation intended to reduce irregular migration was brought in by the then-Conservative government, and came into force in July 2023.
The illegal migration act means those arriving in the UK illegally would no longer be settled in the UK and effectively unable to gain refugee status. Instead they are detained and then removed to the country they came from or a “safe” third country. The bill was criticised as breaching UN rules the UK is signed up to, and for creating a significant backlog of migrants who could not be processed through the UK’s migration system.
Those who arrived in the UK after crossing in small boats since July 2023 have not been granted asylum due to the new rules.
The new Labour government has stated it plans to restart processing asylum applications for people who arrived in the UK through irregular routes.
Ferret Fact Service verdict: Mostly False
It is illegal to enter the UK without the proper permissions, but under international law, those claiming asylum cannot be punished for entering through irregular routes. This accounts for nearly all people crossing the channel in small boats. While the new UK Government has used the term “irregular” instead of “illegal” in public communications, the word “irregular” has been widely used in UK official statistics for many years.
Mostly False – The claim may contain a kernel of truth but leaves out facts which lead one to a different impression.
Ferret Fact Service (FFS) is a non-partisan fact checker, and signatory to the International Fact-Checking Network fact-checkers’ code of principles.
All the sources used in our checks are publicly available and the FFS fact-checking methodology can be viewed here.
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