The UK Home Office is launching a new campaign where, for the first time, it will contact international students and their families, warning them they must leave if they have no right to remain, the BBC reported.

The text and email campaign is the latest step the government is taking to grasp migration after Home Secretary Yvette Cooper revealed the first returns of migrants crossing the English Channel will begin later this month.

The government wants to cut the numbers of students making asylum claims, the BBC reported.

According to the broadcaster, the full message being sent to students will say: “If you submit an asylum claim that lacks merit, it will be swiftly and robustly refused.

“Any request for asylum support will be assessed against destitution criteria. If you do not meet the criteria, you will not receive support.

“If you have no legal right to remain in the UK, you must leave. If you don’t, we will remove you.”

On Monday, MPs returned to Parliament after a summer which saw unrest over how ministers have handled the small boats crisis.

The home secretary told the Commons that following the deal signed with France last month “we expect the first returns to begin later
this month”.

The “one in, one out” pilot scheme has been agreed for the UK to send back migrants to France who crossed the Channel, in exchange for those who apply and are approved to come to the UK.

Cooper also told the Commons new applications to the existing refugee family reunion route will be suspended this week, meaning refugees will be covered by “the same family migration rules and conditions as everyone else” until new rules are introduced.

Further reforms to family reunion routes will be outlined later this year and introduced by spring.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, meanwhile, insisted he wants to speed up efforts to empty asylum hotels and said “I completely understand why people are so concerned about it” when asked about public anger.

The government has committed to empty all hotels currently housing migrants by the end of the Parliament, which could be as late as 2029, but the prime minister suggested he wanted to “bring that forward” without committing to a date. – editor@nrifocus.com