Farage's proposal includes a controversial plan to use British Overseas Territories, specifically mentioning Ascension Island, as a "fallback" option for housing illegal migrants. This strategy would be implemented if other deportation arrangements with third countries, such as a potential revival of the Rwanda deal, are not feasible.
In a statement to The Independent, Farage emphasized the urgency of the issue, stating, “The aim of this legislation is mass deportations. We have a massive crisis in Britain. It is not only posing a national security threat but it's leading to public anger that frankly is not very far away from disorder.”
The policy platform also includes plans for the immediate arrest and automatic detention of asylum seekers arriving via small boats, with the goal of enacting hundreds of thousands of deportations. To facilitate this, Reform UK proposes building detention centers for up to 24,000 people and running five charter flights for deportations daily. The party's plan would also require leaving the European Convention on Human Rights and repealing the Human Rights Act.