The right-wing party has pledged to open them in Green-controlled areas if it is elected
14:26, 05 May 2026Updated 14:26, 05 May 2026
Cllr Heather Mack(Image: (Image: Paul Gillis ))
A leading Bristol councillor has condemned Reform’s promise to open migration detention centres in Green-voting areas as an ‘inhumane stunt’. Zia Yusuf, Reform UK’s home affairs spokesperson, announced the centres would be built in Green-controlled areas if his party was elected, as part of Reform’s ‘mass deportation programme’.
Cllr Heather Mack, Green deputy leader of Bristol City Council, said: “This is an inhumane and likely illegal policy stunt to whip up hate and division, nothing more.
“As a proud city of sanctuary, Bristol welcomes those seeking asylum.
“We strongly oppose detention centres and will continue to treat those fleeing often horrific circumstances with the dignity, respect and kindness they deserve.”
Cllr Heather Mack(Image: (Image: Paul Gillis ))
Yusuf said Green-controlled areas would be targeted due to that party’s supposed support for ‘open borders’.
“Given the Green Party advocate for open borders and for an infinite number of undocumented men to come here, we will prioritise Green constituencies and Green-controlled councils to locate these detention centres,” he said.
“This is the fairest approach to ensuring democratic consent for all aspects of our mass deportation programme.”
In the year ending December 2025, there were 46,000 detected ‘arrivals via illegal routes’, according to the Home Office. The vast majority of those arrivals came in so-called ‘small boats’; small boat arrivals accounted for 41,000 (89%), 13% more than the previous year but 9% lower than the peak in 2022.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage (right) and chair Zia Yusuf (centre) celebrate for the media after Reform candidate Sarah Pochin won the Runcorn and Helsby by-election in 2025(Image: © 2025 PA Media, All Rights Reserved)
In 2025, 101,000 people claimed asylum in the UK, and at the end of the year there were 64,000 people awaiting an initial decision related to an asylum application, 48% lower than at the end of 2024 and 63% lower than the peak at the end of June 2023 when there were 175,000 people in limbo.
At a national level, Reform’s announcement was condemned by senior figures from across the political spectrum. As well as describing the policy as cruel, several critics have pointed out it would be incredibly expensive.
Reform wants to detain up to 24,000 people within 18 months if it wins power at the next general election, currently scheduled to take place in 2029.
Building new detention centres that could manage that capacity would cost about £12bn, according to the BBC.
Stand up to Racism national organiser Michael Bradley said Reform’s deportation plans were, “straight out of Donald Trump’s playbook,” in comments made to left-wing newspaper The Morning Star.
In 2022 Greg Abbott, Republican governor of Texas and a Trump ally, began a controversial policy of bussing migrants to Democrat-controlled cities in other states.