‘These People Are Poison’: Reform UK’s Zia Yusuf Slammed Over ICE-Style Deportation Plan

Zia Yusuf unveils Reform’s immigration plans during a press conference in Dover.Reform UK have been condemned over plans to introduce an ICE-style body to detain and deport illegal immigrants.Zia Yusuf, the party’s home affairs spokesman, said they would set up a new body called “UK deportation command” if they win the next general election.He said it would “have just one mission – to track down and detain those in this country illegally”.Yusuf said: “We will rapidly build detention capacity. No chance of bail, no chance of absconding. Detention will mean deportation.“We will embark on the most audacious charter flight operation since World War 2, ramping up deportation flights to five departures every single day.”A Nigel Farage-led government would also scrap indefinite leave to remain with a renewable five year work visa, Yusuf said.Labour chair Anna Turley said: “Reform wants to divide our country, not deliver for the British people.“Their plan to deport people who have followed the rules, worked hard and built their lives here – our friends, neighbours and colleagues – is a direct attack on settled families and fundamentally un-British.“Britain is a proud, tolerant and diverse nation, which stands in opposition to the kind of divisive politics stoked by Reform.”Social media users compared Reform’s “deportation command” plan to America’s controversial Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency, whose officers have shot dead two protesters already this year.Journalist Ian Dunt posted on Bluesky: “These people are poison. They will unleash racist thugs on the streets of this country and call it security. They will subjugate us to the US and call it patriotism. They must be stopped. There is no more important task in politics.”These people are poison. They will unleash racist thugs on the streets of this country and call it security. They will subjugate us to the US and call it patriotism. They must be stopped. There is no more important task in politics.— Ian Dunt (@iandunt.bsky.social)2026-02-23T07:32:28.674ZReform want to bring Trump’s thugs onto our own streets. They must be stopped. Only a vote for the Greens in Gorton and Denton on Thursday can stop them. Hope will defeat hate.https://t.co/bpvkGOSrJl— Zack Polanski (@ZackPolanski) February 23, 2026Reform to copy ICE, says Zia Yusuf👇Because of course there’s nothing more British than Gestapo-style police thugs terrorizing local communities and throwing 5 year-olds and grannies into detainment campsIt’s actually what a lot of our – British – parents fought against pic.twitter.com/tpsj9lCt59— Alex Taylor (@AlexTaylorNews) February 23, 2026Mass deportations and stirring up hate doesn’t make anyone “feel safe”.https://t.co/r0be0SIyK9— Good Law Project (@GoodLawProject) February 23, 2026Related…Tactical Voting Groups Say Greens – Not Labour – Will Stop Reform In By-ElectionReform Accused Of ‘Hypocrisy’ After Using Deportation Footage To… Attack Lack Of DeportationsExclusive: Greens Predict There’s Only 73 Votes Between Them And Reform Ahead Of By-Election HuffPost UK – Athena2 – All Entries (Public) Read More