Name: UK tightens border controls amid concerns about increased immigration
Uploaded: 2025-12-26T23:23:41.921Z
Duration: 2 min 54 s
Description: In a quiet town in southeast England, plans to house hundreds of asylum seekers have sparked weeks of protest. The anger on display reflects a wider unease across the country over immigration and border control. As public pressure grows, Britain is tightening its immigration rules more sharply than at any point in decades.

In a quiet town in southeast England, plans to house hundreds of asylum seekers have sparked weeks of protest. The anger on display reflects a wider unease across the country over immigration and border control. As public pressure grows, Britain is tightening its immigration rules more sharply than at any point in decades.

Crowborough

The UK government has enacted its most stringent immigration restrictions in five decades, responding to ongoing local protests and heightened public anxiety over the arrival of asylum seekers. The new policies, introduced by the centre-left Labour government, will tighten controls across work, family, and study immigration categories, with some asylum seekers potentially facing up to 30 years before obtaining residency.

Public opinion has played a significant role in shaping these measures, with recent polls indicating that a majority of UK adults are concerned about immigration levels and the increase in small boat crossings across the English Channel. Despite these concerns, official figures show that net migration has dropped by two-thirds due to previous curbs on overseas workers and students.

UK tightens border controls amid concerns about increased immigration

Milena Veselinovic reports. The look may be festive, but the message is not. On a Sunday morning in Croborough, in the south-east of England, residents marched against plans to house asylum seekers in a former army barracks on the edge of town. What are you concerned about? It doesn't matter where they were from, it's just the fact that suddenly five to six hundred males, young males, will be in the town and wandering around with nothing to do. I can't believe Keir Starmer is actually ignoring Croborough and not making any comment about what is happening. We've made a stand, we've told them, you know, Croborough is not happy. The momentum here is building. Well people have been protesting in this town for weeks now and what is happening here is reflective of the wider mood in this country. Over the summer, angry protests flared outside hotels housing asylum seekers, triggered by the sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl and a woman by an Ethiopian man who had arrived on a small boat just days earlier. And in response, the centre-left Labour government rolled out the biggest tightening of immigration rules in 50 years. Every area of the immigration system, work, family and study will be tightened up so we have more control. Those reaching the port of Dover after crossing the English Channel in small boats could wait up to 30 years to gain residency. This government policy to fortify Britain's borders is shaped by public opinion. According to a recent poll, two-thirds of UK adults think that there are too many people coming to this country. Nearly half believe that immigration has had a negative impact on the UK overall. And 73% of those polled say that they are concerned about the rise in small boats crossing the English Channel. But despite that perception, net migration is down by two-thirds, driven by previous curbs on overseas workers and students. Outside this visa centre in Islamabad, many remain hopeful of a future in the UK. I guess the behaviour of people and the facilities available there are far better than those in Pakistan and that's why so many people are attracted to that country. It's a reality that some students travel to the UK, abandon their studies and seek asylum. In Britain, those fears are driving a fraught debate over immigration, a debate that's reshaping the country's relationship with a wider world. Milena Veselinovic, Al Jazeera, South East England. Lauren Starkey is an independent social worker.

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