Immigration

Fact checks about immigration statistics, asylum seekers, border control and potential impacts on public services and opinions

30 November 2023

‘Illegal immigrants’ aren’t entitled to benefits in the UK

A Facebook post calls for “illegal immigrants” to be deterred by stopping benefits—but people in the UK without a right to be here aren’t entitled to benefits already.

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‘Illegal immigrants’ aren’t entitled to benefits in the UK
23 November 2023

Does the government’s Rwanda policy only impact ‘failed asylum seekers’?

We’ve looked into the detail of the government’s plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda, and whether other governments are considering similar schemes.

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Does the government’s Rwanda policy only impact ‘failed asylum seekers’?
7 November 2023

Lee Anderson claim about Labour migrants ‘deal’ appears to be based on unreliable Conservative party estimate

The Conservative party deputy chair’s claim that Labour’s immigration plans would “give hundreds of thousands of migrants a golden ticket” to the UK is similar to recent comments from other …

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Lee Anderson claim about Labour migrants ‘deal’ appears to be based on unreliable Conservative party estimate
27 October 2023

Is the asylum backlog ‘falling rapidly’?

We’ve looked at the figures after immigration minister Robert Jenrick made this claim on Sky News.

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Is the asylum backlog ‘falling rapidly’?
25 October 2023

How does the number of migrant returns compare to the past?

The number of people being returned from the UK, including asylum seekers, foreign national offenders and others, is up since 2020, but is relatively low compared to earlier years.

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How does the number of migrant returns compare to the past?
3 October 2023

Have UN asylum rules ‘created 780 million refugees’?

Headlines about the home secretary’s speech last week were misleading, with the think tank figure she quoted a broad estimate for the number of people who may have a “notional” …

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Have UN asylum rules ‘created 780 million refugees’?
29 September 2023

Housing asylum seekers in hotels costs around £8 million a day

The Prime Minister appeared to understate the cost when claiming in local TV interviews that £5-6 million a day is spent on hotels for “illegal migrants”.

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Housing asylum seekers in hotels costs around £8 million a day
22 September 2023

It’s not true that 50% of child asylum seekers turn out to be adults

Reform UK party leader Richard Tice wrongly claimed in a social media post that 50% of children seeking asylum were found to be adults.

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It’s not true that 50% of child asylum seekers turn out to be adults
20 September 2023

Conservative estimate that UK would take 100,000 migrants a year under Labour plan is not reliable

It’s not clear how many more migrants might come as a result of any future returns agreement with the EU, but the 100,000 figure is based on a number of …

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Conservative estimate that UK would take 100,000 migrants a year under Labour plan is not reliable
19 September 2023

More than 37% of Croydon’s population is British

The last census suggests that over 80% of Croydon’s residents have a British identity.

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More than 37% of Croydon’s population is British

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