Introduce offshore detention/mass deportation for illegal migrants
The Parliament petitions site records 720,772 signatures for this petition, which closed on 12 March 2026. The Government responded on 21 January 2026. MPs debated it in Westminster Hall on 13 July 2026.
The petition
The petition's creator is not named in the Petitions site's published record. Quoted in full from the UK Parliament petitions site.
Introduce offshore detention/mass deportation for illegal migrants
The Government should seek to establish offshore detention facilities for individuals who enter the UK illegally, to process them and arrange their deportation.
The UK is facing unprecedented levels of illegal migration, particularly through small boat crossings. We believe current use of hotels and temporary accommodation is unsustainable, costly and dangerous.
We believe that establishing offshore detention centres would act as a strong deterrent, prevent absconding, and allow for the swift processing and removal of those who enter illegally.
We consider the detention and mass deportation of all illegal migrants in the UK is a necessity.
The Government's response
The Government published its response on 21 January 2026; the petitions site lists the Home Office as responsible. Its summary:
This Government is doing whatever it takes to secure our borders; though offshore detention is costly and impractical, the most sweeping asylum reforms in a generation are being introduced.
The opening 362 words of the 692-word response:
We will do whatever it takes to secure our borders. We believe the number of small boat crossings are shameful and the British people deserve better. To restore order and control to our borders, on 17 November 2025, the Home Secretary announced the most sweeping reforms to tackle illegal migration in decades, removing incentives that bring illegal migrants to the UK and scaling up and easing the return of those with no right to be here. More information on these major changes can be found here -
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/asylum-and-returns-policy-statement.
These reforms will end the UK’s asylum ‘golden ticket’ which has drawn migrants from safe countries across Europe. We are taking a new approach to refugee protection in the UK, which marks a significant change in direction away from an assumption of offering permanent protection, and towards a more basic, and temporary protection, which we call ‘core protection’ lasting only until a refugee can safely return home. Refugee status will become temporary, reviewed every 30 months, with a 20-year path to settlement, ensuring long-term commitment and integration.
To reduce other pull factors, we have increased illegal working arrests and raids to the highest level in British history, so that there is nowhere to hide. The number of raids has soared by 77% in the UK since the Government came to power, with 17,400 raids made to dodgy businesses - such as nail bars or barbers – leading to an 83% rise in arrests (July 2024 to end of 2025). This major uplift and over 12,300 arrests were made possible by a £5 million funding boost last year for Immigration Enforcement, to pursue this criminality. The crackdown builds on other work to reduce the lure of illegal working that gangs use to sell spaces on small boats.
On small boats, our partnership with France led to 20,000 fewer crossings in 2025, and this Government’s landmark UK-France returns agreement means those arriving risk immediate detention and removal. Since this pilot was introduced over 150 people have been removed in this way. To further reduce arrivals, we are giving police new stronger powers to act earlier to disrupt and take down the operations of criminal smuggling gangs.
Read the full response on the petitions site.
Where the signatures came from
Signatures came from 650 constituencies. Measured against each constituency's electorate at the 2024 general election, the most came from Great Yarmouth, with 55.9 signatures per 1,000 electors (4,098 in all).
713,713 of the signatures were from the UK and 7,059 from elsewhere, by the location signers gave.
| Constituency | Signatures | Electorate, July 2024 | Per 1,000 electors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Great Yarmouth | 4,098 | 73,317 | 55.9 |
| Carlisle | 2,505 | 77,863 | 32.2 |
| Houghton and Sunderland South | 2,307 | 78,448 | 29.4 |
| Whitehaven and Workington | 1,998 | 73,198 | 27.3 |
| Castle Point | 1,880 | 71,026 | 26.5 |
| Redcar | 1,789 | 70,241 | 25.5 |
| Makerfield | 1,938 | 76,641 | 25.3 |
| Doncaster North | 1,723 | 69,759 | 24.7 |
| Blackpool North and Fleetwood | 1,806 | 73,339 | 24.6 |
| Easington | 1,695 | 69,395 | 24.4 |
| Region | Signatures |
|---|---|
| South East | 99,665 |
| North West | 93,192 |
| East of England | 79,778 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 65,819 |
| South West | 62,820 |
| West Midlands | 62,258 |
| East Midlands | 55,255 |
| Scotland | 54,835 |
| North East | 41,956 |
| London | 39,922 |
| Wales | 38,732 |
| Northern Ireland | 12,748 |
Debate in Parliament
MPs debated the petition in Westminster Hall on 13 July 2026. Read the debate in Hansard. House of Commons Library debate pack.
Source and receipt
- https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/737105.jsonUK Parliament Petitions API · read 2026-10-15 · SHA-256
58b1c7076ddcebfb… - The petition on petition.parliament.uk
The petition's words are its creator's and the response is the Government's; this site quotes both and gives no view on either. Signature counts can still change while a petition is open. To report an error, send a correction request.