Members of the public could soon be recruited to help decide immigration appeals as part of a major push to speed up the removal of bogus asylum seekers.
Shabana Mahmood is expected to unveil plans to recruit hundreds of people to serve as adjudicators under new magistrate-style reforms to the appeals system.
The changes will be included in the Immigration and Asylum Bill, due to be introduced on Tuesday.
Under the new Independent Immigration Appeals Authority (IIAA), illegal migrants will have just one opportunity to appeal a rejected claim. The body will replace the current two-tier immigration tribunal, which has faced criticism over controversial rulings, including the infamous “chicken nugget migrant” case.
The new authority will focus on cases considered to be in the public interest, such as high-risk foreign offenders and asylum seekers making human rights claims deemed clearly without merit.
Mahmood said the reforms are aimed at cutting the record backlog of 87,400 asylum cases.
However, the Conservatives — who controlled the Home Office for 14 years — argue the plans still do not go far enough.
Chris Philp, the Shadow Home Secretary, said: “If the Government was serious about deporting illegal migrants and foreign criminals, it would leave the ECHR, exit the modern slavery treaty, ban illegal migrants from claiming asylum, and restrict most judicial reviews. But they are too weak to do so.”
The Home Office said the paid adjudicators, who would replace legally trained judges, will come from a broad range of professional backgrounds, with safeguards in place to maintain high standards.
The criteria for becoming an asylum adjudicator will mirror that of magistrates, who receive professional training and are independently appointed, despite not needing formal legal qualifications.
Unlike magistrates, who volunteer without pay, these adjudicators will receive salaries in both full-time and part-time roles, with a strict recruitment process expected.
A Home Office source told The Times that the IIAA will likely be led by a chief executive with senior leadership experience, alongside a chief decision-maker from the legal sector.
Mahmood said: “Our appeals tribunal is overwhelmed. As a result, people are exploiting the system by filing weak appeals to delay removal. The new appeals body will ensure claims are dealt with quickly and fairly.
“Those with genuine claims will get a fair hearing. Those abusing the system and with no right to remain will be removed swiftly.”
Labour’s immigration reforms are also aimed at tackling the nearly 20,000 foreign offenders still living freely in Britain despite being marked for deportation.
Home Office figures show 19,779 criminals remain in the UK after filing human rights claims to block their removal.
Many have argued deportation would violate their right to family life under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, though the Government plans to narrow this interpretation to immediate family only.
Mahmood has also announced plans to increase detention capacity by 40 percent, as the Government aims to deport an additional 45,000 foreign criminals and failed asylum seekers over the next decade.
Andy Burnham backed Labour’s reforms during a meeting with Mahmood earlier this week.
Earlier this month, Burnham said he supports greater use of detention to speed up the deportation of illegal migrants who have no valid basis for asylum.
Mahmood added: “Returns and deportations are at their highest level in nearly a decade. Nearly 70,000 people with no legal right to remain in the UK have been removed since this Government took office.
“But we will go further. These expansions will allow thousands more foreign criminals and illegal migrants to be removed.”
Philp, however, argued that simply tweaking Article 8 and increasing detention capacity would not be enough to significantly boost deportations.
