The Home Office has ignited a fierce political row after launching a provocative new TikTok account featuring dramatic videos of illegal migrants being detained and removed from the UK. The move has drawn immediate comparisons to the social media tactics of former US President Donald Trump and been condemned by refugee charities as 'performative cruelty'.
'Secure Borders UK' and the Backlash
Launched on Tuesday, the 'Secure Borders UK' account debuted with a slick, 20-second clip. It showed people being detained, overlaid with statistics on immigration enforcement and the ominous caption: 'It's just getting started.' Subsequent posts feature individuals in handcuffs being led onto deportation flights and new arrivals at detention centres, all set to dramatic music. The Home Office stated some of those shown are foreign criminals being deported after convictions.
The department defended the 'hard-hitting' channel as a necessary tool to combat what it called 'fake news superspreaders' challenging the government's immigration record. It cited a 61% rise in immigration-related videos on TikTok. Officials also argued the account would help take the fight to people smugglers who use the platform to recruit.
Charities and Critics Condemn 'Clickbait' Approach
However, the strategy has been met with widespread condemnation. Human rights group Freedom from Torture accused the government of seeking 'cheap political points' by turning enforcement raids into 'clickbait online entertainment'.
Natasha Tsangarides, the group's associate director of advocacy, told the Daily Mail: 'This Trump-style populist messaging is designed to divide, dehumanise and stoke fear... This kind of content only risks fuelling hostility and violence.'
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp dismissed the videos as a 'pathetic gimmick', arguing that posting on TikTok would not stop illegal immigration. On the platform itself, where UK users tend to be younger, reaction was overwhelmingly negative, with comments describing the content as 'dystopian' and 'disgusting'.
The Figures Behind the Controversy
The controversy comes as the Home Office released new enforcement data. It reported arresting over 12,000 illegal workers in the first 18 months of the Labour government, following nearly 17,500 raids. This marked a significant rise from 6,725 arrests in the prior 18-month period.
However, of those arrested, only 1,725 have been deported so far—roughly one in seven. The Refugee Council's Imran Hussain pointed to official statistics showing that for the year ending September 2025, voluntary removals (27,075) vastly outnumbered enforced departures (9,382). He argued that supporting people to 'leave with dignity' was more effective.
The Home Office also stated that £74 million had been recouped from asylum contracts, with both the number of asylum hotels and the spending on them falling since July 2023. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: 'I will stop at nothing to restore order and control to our borders.' Yet, with its new social media strategy, the government finds itself battling a fierce backlash over the tone and ethics of its immigration message.
