What does the pledge mean? 

Labour’s manifesto said the purpose of a new returns and enforcement unit was to “fast-track removals to safe countries for people who do not have the right to stay here”.

This would include asylum seekers whose claims have been rejected, foreign national offenders and other people who are in the UK without the right to be here.

The manifesto commitment was for a “new” unit to be created, with 1,000 “additional” staff. It wasn’t clear whether this meant redeploying existing civil servants to work in the new unit, or if the pledge meant the government was committed to recruiting 1,000 newly hired staff.

We asked the Home Office about this in October and November 2024, March 2025 and again in February 2026, but didn’t hear back.

During the election campaign, Labour appears to have referred to recruiting staff in regards to this pledge at least twice. In a press release issued by the party on 7 June 2024, it said: “Labour will recruit over 1,000 Home Office caseworkers to clear the record Tory backlog, and a further 1,000 staff for a new returns unit.”

On 9 June 2024, The Telegraph reported then-shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said that Labour would set up “a new returns and enforcement unit in the Home Office, recruiting 1,000 new officers”. Labour’s manifesto was launched on 13 June 2024, but it was signed off on 7 June.

What progress has been made?

We’re now rating this pledge as “not kept”, as the government has told Full Fact it “decided to enhance” existing returns and enforcement activity capabilities “rather than establish a separate unit” as was promised in its manifesto. It has however redeployed 1,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) existing Home Office staff to work on “returns and enforcement priorities”.

In March 2026, in response to a Freedom of Information request submitted by Full Fact, the Immigration Enforcement Secretariat told us: “Returns and enforcement activity falls to various parts of the Home Office, and in particular to Immigration Enforcement, Visas, Passports, Citizenship and Resettlement Services, Asylum Group and the Border Security Command.

“Ministers decided to enhance those existing capabilities rather than establish a separate unit, and in light of that decision, I can confirm that the Home Office redeployed the equivalent of 1,000 full-time staff from across the Department to increase delivery of the Government’s returns and enforcement priorities.”

The Home Office’s annual report and accounts for 2024/25 said: “Improved performance was supported by redeploying 1,000 staff to focus on returns and enforcement activity.”

The report shows the number of FTE staff working in “immigration enforcement” increased by just over 1,800 between 2023/24 and 2024/25, but we don’t know how much of this increase took place under Labour.

We also don’t know if all of the 1,000 redeployed staff are included in the figures for “immigration enforcement" or if they are counted in other categories, as the FOI response from the Home Office notes that returns and enforcement activity “falls to various parts of the Home Office”.

We’ve contacted the Labour party to ask for a further explanation of why ministers decided not to set up a separate new immigration returns unit, and will update this page if we receive a response.