Overview

• The Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill will introduce a new offence carrying up to five years’ imprisonment for anyone advertising Channel crossings or fake passports on social media
• The Home Office has allocated £100 million to recruit up to 300 National Crime Agency officers and deploy advanced detection technology against people-smuggling gangs
• A one-in, one-out returns pilot with France is due to launch next month, exchanging irregular Channel arrivals for asylum seekers arriving via legal routes
• A fast-track asylum scheme is being prepared to deliver initial decisions within weeks in a bid to clear the backlog and deter unauthorised crossings
• Official figures show a record 25,000 small-boat arrivals so far in 2025, with Home Office analysis indicating about 80% of migrants used social media to contact smuggling networks