20,000 foreign criminals living in UK despite deportation orders
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Around 20,000 foreign criminals in the UK are still present despite having deportation orders, according to The Times and UK Home Office data. The number of deported criminals has increased from 8,000 in 2020 to 36,000 in 2025, but their proportion remains low at under 30%. The Times reported that only a fraction of deported criminals return to their home countries, with return rates below 20% for some nations.
The UK sees a significant influx of migrants attempting to enter illegally, with over 41,000 arriving by boat in 2025, the second-highest recorded number. The cost of housing asylum seekers in hotels continues to burden the UK authorities.
Written by urgent.news from New Straits Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
