Britain’s Labour government is reportedly preparing to scale back proposed immigration reforms after mounting opposition within the party over plans that would delay permanent residency for more than 1.6 million migrants who entered the country during the surge in migration known as the “Boriswave.”

According to reports, immigration changes championed by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood could be shelved for those migrants following pressure on incoming Prime Minister Andy Burnham from Labour’s left-wing backbench lawmakers.

As part of an effort to reduce the long-term financial burden associated with mass migration, Mahmood had proposed doubling the waiting period for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) from five years to ten years.

However, applying the new rules to migrants already living in Britain has reportedly met fierce resistance from within Labour. Nearly 80 Labour MPs argued that preventing those migrants from obtaining permanent residency under the current timetable would be “anathema to who we are, what we stand for and how we should do politics.”

The Times of London reported that negotiations between Mahmood and Labour’s left-wing faction could result in a compromise that preserves the existing five-year pathway to permanent residency for Boriswave migrants while delaying their eligibility for certain welfare benefits.

Alp Mehmet, chairman of Migration Watch UK, sharply criticized the reported retreat in comments provided to Breitbart London.

“This is appalling, if entirely predictable. Whatever Ms Mahmood’s intentions may be, it is obvious that Labour’s far-left backbenchers will have none of it. This would hand settlement to 1.6 million people, each of whom could in turn bring in more dependants.

“The Prime Minister-in-waiting should stop hiding. Will Mr Burnham show more backbone than his predecessor-to-be and kill this anti-Britain plan now?”

Under current law, migrants who obtain Indefinite Leave to Remain become eligible for a range of government benefits, including Universal Credit, housing assistance, state pensions, housing subsidies, and access to National Health Service hospital and general practitioner care.

The issue has intensified scrutiny of the sharp rise in immigration that occurred under former Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Critics argue that, despite promises to reduce immigration after Brexit, Johnson’s policies instead produced record-breaking levels of migration into Britain.

A report published in April by Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party estimated that migrants who arrived during the Boriswave between 2020 and 2024 would ultimately cost British families an average of approximately £20,000 each over their lifetimes, for a total projected cost of £622.5 billion by the year 2085.

Reform UK has pledged that, if it comes to power, it would eliminate Indefinite Leave to Remain altogether. The party instead proposes replacing permanent residency with a five-year work visa modeled after the American system, under which migrants would not qualify for welfare benefits.

The party has also vowed to launch a nationwide inquiry into those it says were responsible for allowing record levels of immigration despite promising the opposite, including Boris Johnson and former Home Secretary Priti Patel.

Reform UK Shadow Home Secretary Zia Yusuf condemned the Boriswave as the greatest act of “vandalism” ever inflicted on the British public and warned that unless the policy is reversed, it could “bankrupt” Britain.

{Matzav.com}