The UK has introduced new measures to control illegal immigration, causing a rift within the Labour Party. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmud, whose own parents were illegal immigrants, presented these new measures as a 'moral duty' for herself and the Labour Party to stop the current divisions in the country. Oxford University migration analyst Miah Whippes confirms that immigration is indeed an issue that divides the nation. Labour politician Al Dobbs, who dedicated his life to defending and supporting refugees, criticizes the new measures, comparing them to the 'hysterical' policies of right-wing parties across Europe that exploit the refugee issue to gain votes. Dobbs adds that while we must be strict in combating the mafias that traffic migrants, we must adhere to basic legal principles. Dobbs sees the idea of deporting people who have lived in the UK for nearly 20 years, and their children born in the country, as belonging to another era, asking: 'How can social integration be achieved this way? What do we do with the children born here? Are we to deport them with their parents? All these dilemmas are unacceptable.' These measures, which include increasing the waiting period for permanent residency in the UK from five to 20 years and reviewing the status of all asylum seekers every 30 months, with the possibility of being returned to their home country if the government deems the danger has passed, have caused significant discomfort among many Labour MPs. Up to 20 MPs have expressed strong criticism, using terms like 'cruelty' or 'repugnance', and accusing the government of mimicking the fascist rhetoric of the far right. Prime Minister Keir Starmer addressed Labour party members in Liverpool, calling for a battle 'for the soul of the country' against the right-wing populist Reform UK party led by Nigel Farage.
