UK Home Secretary’s “sweeping asylum reforms” spark urgent trafficking concerns

UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has unveiled what she calls “the most sweeping asylum reforms in modern times.” She plans to cut asylum numbers through strict deterrence measures, faster removals, and a small set of new “safe and legal” routes capped at only a few hundred people a year.

Mahmood argues the plan will fix a broken system and stop people from paying criminal gangs. But anti-slavery campaigners say the proposals will worsen exploitation and make people in the UK more vulnerable to trafficking, forced labor, and exploitation.

A system that increases risk, not safety

Advocates warn that the new rules will leave thousands of people stuck on short, unstable permissions to stay. These temporary statuses require repeated reassessments and offer no clear route to long-term security. People living in limbo are more likely to fall into hidden work, rely on exploitative employers, and avoid reporting abuse out of fear.

Anti-Slavery International says an inadequate number of safe migration routes makes smuggling and trafficking more lucrative. The group argues border-focused policies creates and worsens modern slavery conditions—including trafficking, forced labor, and debt bondage. Sian Lea, Head of UK and European Advocacy, said to the Byline Times:

Precarious immigration status only pushes people further into the hands of exploiters by increasing fear of authorities and creating additional barriers to accessing work, education or other crucial support.

Research supports these concerns. Walk Free found migrant workers are three times more likely to experience forced labor than local workers. UNHCR and the British Red Cross have documented domestic servitude, sexual exploitation, labor abuse, and forced criminality among people seeking asylum in the UK.

Many asylum seekers already survive on £7 per day and cannot work legally. Researchers say these conditions leave people dependent on the “shadow economy,” where exploiters can easily take advantage.

Legal protections weakened under the plan

The proposals also involve major reinterpretations of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)—including the rights to family life and to protection from inhuman or degrading treatment—to make removals easier. Mahmood cruelly alleges that some asylum seekers exploit the Modern Slavery Act to delay deportation by filing last-minute claims.

However, Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner Eleanor Lyons says Parliament found no evidence of widespread misuse. She emphasized that people cannot simply self-declare their trafficking status; the Home Office decides each case.

The Government says it will revamp the Modern Slavery Act to stop misuse while preserving essential protections. But Steve Valdez-Symonds, Amnesty International UK’s Refugee and Migrant Rights Director, called the proposals “divisive and cruel.” He said:

Forcing refugees into endless short-term applications, denying visas to partners and children and stripping away support for people who would otherwise be destitute will only deepen chaos, increase costs and hand greater power to people smugglers,

Labour MP Catherine West also questioned Mahmood on asylum seekers facing homelessness and poverty. Mahmood countered that it’s in their best interest to leave the country willingly. Moreover, the Home Secretary could not assure John McDonnell MP that children would not be detained under this policy.

“This is a government of cowards”

Campaigners say the Government must choose a different path. They urge ministers to treat people seeking safety with dignity, allow them the right to work, and invest in systems that make fair decisions in a reasonable time. Strengthening access to legal advice, restoring key protections, and safeguarding survivors would help prevent exploitation instead of pushing people further into danger.

Furthermore, Green party leader Zack Polanski pointed to the economic advantages of migration:

This is a government of cowards, … If we allow people to work, we know that migration is of economic benefit. There’s 150,000 vacancies in the NHS, we have vacancies in the construction industry, and we have an aging population.

Freedom United stands with the call for humane, rights-based migration policies. Despite claims by governments that tighter border controls will prevent human trafficking, the opposite is true. People will always move, especially as climate change and human rights abuses increase around the globe. But evidence shows that when people crossing borders are forced to take irregular routes, they are at greater risk of exploitation as they navigate tightly restricted borders.

But you have the power to push back. Around the world, governments continue to use anti-trafficking rhetoric to justify harsh immigration policies that increase exploitation and undermine victims’ rights. You can call on them to stop, and to protect people, not punish them. Take action today.