Reform UK’s deportation command will not face same issues as Ice in US

Reform UK’s proposed agency to carry out mass deportations of migrants with no right to be in the country will not become like Donald Trump’s Ice programme in the US, its home affairs spokesman has said.Zia Yusuf said it is “not true” that the party’s plans for a UK Deportation Command will face the same issues as US president Mr Trump’s body, which saw an immigration crackdown in Minnesota lead to mass detentions, protests and two deaths.Under a Reform government, the party would set up the unit to “track down, detain and deport” people in the country illegally, aiming for up to 288,000 people each year.Mr Yusuf said it was “very tempting” and “somewhat inevitable” for people to make the comparison between Reform’s model and the US, but said the UK does not have the same problems with firearms and policing is “much more” done by consent.My first speech as Shadow Home Secretary: here’s how Reform will secure our borders, deport illegal migrants and make you feel safe 👇 pic.twitter.com/iRzztOY492— Zia Yusuf (@ZiaYusufUK) February 23, 2026Speaking at a press conference in Dover, he said: “So you know this notion that we’re going to have the same issues that come sharply into focus internationally as a result of Trump’s Ice programme – it’s just not true, we would not expect UK Deportation Command to carry weapons. It’s not going to be the case.“But I also want to be clear that if you’re in this country illegally, they will detect you and they will detain you and they’ll deport you.”He added: “If your question is: are we going to have the kind of situation that we saw in Minnesota in Britain as a result of our deportation programme? No.”Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Max Wilkinson had said Reform’s “Trump-inspired plans for an Ice-style force will only bring chaos and disorder to Britain’s streets, not the order and control our immigration system needs”.Amnesty International UK also warned the UK does not “need or want” a