LABOUR’S attempt to “outflank Reform” on international students is “political suicide,” the University and College Union (UCU) warned today following reports of a crackdown on asylum claims.

The Home Office is to launch a new campaign, contacting foreign students and their families via text and email to warn them they must leave if they have “no legal right to remain,” according to the BBC.

It comes as Home Secretary Yvette Cooper confirmed that the first removals of migrants who crossed the Channel will begin later this month. 

The campaign will target students making asylum applications, which ministers claim are often without merit.

Messages will warn that “swift and robust” refusals will be issued and that support will only be provided to those meeting strict criteria.

Home Office data shows 14,800 people who had originally entered Britain on study visas claimed asylum in the year to June 2025, accounting for 13 per cent of the total. 

The figure represents a 10 per cent decrease from the previous 12 months.

UCU general secretary Jo Grady said: “This attack on international students has very little to do with visa overstays and everything to do with aping Reform. 

“With [Nigel] Farage talking up mass deportations and migrant prison camps, Labour continuing to demonise immigrants and refugees isn’t just immoral, it’s political suicide. 

“Labour will never outflank Reform on division and bigotry.”

Ms Grady said Labour should instead be making the case for “a welcoming and economically strong Britain, of which international students and a world-leading higher education sector are an integral part.”

In the Commons, Ms Cooper also confirmed that applications to the existing refugee family reunion route will be suspended this week ahead of the introduction of new rules.

And Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer insisted he wants to speed up efforts to empty asylum hotels.

Freedom from Torture’s Sile Reynolds said: “The men, women and children who’ve come to the UK seeking sanctuary have fled violent and oppressive regimes where they have been tortured for defending the rights we take for granted every day — like going to school or voting.”

She criticised the suspension of family reunion as “cruel and unnecessary,” stressing that refugees who have fled violence and torture need to be reunited with their families to rebuild their lives.