As the government rushed to deal with the aftermath from a court ruling that will force a hotel in a London suburb to deport asylum-seekers, protesters and proponents of migrants engaged in heated altercations at rallies organized around Britain over the holiday weekend.
The administration, which has found it difficult to stop illegal migration and carry out its obligation to provide shelter to those in need, has been plagued by the verdict.
As nations throughout the West attempt to deal with an inflow of migrants seeking a better life as they flee war-torn nations, poverty, climate change-affected regions, or political persecution, immigration has turned into a political hot spot. Smugglers' overcrowded boats carrying migrants over the English Channel and rising tensions over providing public accommodation for tens of thousands of asylum-seekers have been the main topics of discussion in the United Kingdom.
The administration said Sunday it will expedite asylum appeals that could result in additional deportations and clear a backlog of cases in an effort to help end the crisis.
Weeks of protests outside the Bell Hotel in Epping, on the outskirts of London, after a hotel employee was accused of trying to kiss a 14-year-old girl and was charged with sexual assault, preceded the most recent round of protests. The man will go on trial later this month after denying the charge.
Due to "unprecedented levels of protest and disruption," which resulted in multiple arrests, the Epping Forest District Council was granted a temporary injunction to close the hotel.
The government intends to challenge the High Court's judgment on Tuesday in favor of the council, which prompted anti-immigrant protesters to gather over the weekend under the banner of Abolish Asylum System. Counterprotesters were organized by the organization Stand up to Racism.
As police battled to separate the two groups in locations like Bristol on Saturday, they threw insults at one another in a number of neighborhoods. No significant violence was recorded, but over a dozen people were arrested.
In Birmingham and London's Canary Wharf, groups gathered peacefully outside hotels that house refugees on Sunday.
Legally, the government must provide asylum-seekers with housing. Prior to 2020, when the number of asylum-seekers skyrocketed and the then-Conservative administration had to come up with new ways to shelter them, using hotels for this purpose had been a minor concern.
According to Home Office data released Thursday, a record 111,084 asylum applications were made in the year ending in June 2025, yet less than one-third of those applicants are currently lodging in hotels.
According to the Home Office, there were little over 32,000 asylum-seekers staying in hotels as of the end of June. That number was far down than the peak of almost 56,000 in September 2023, although it was up 8% from over 29,500 a year earlier.
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