UK Now Deports Modern Slaves While Importing Child Labor
The Guardian reports Downing Street's glee over a new agreement to swiftly deport Vietnamese arrivals, citing a 'surge in clandestine arrivals.' (The Guardian, October 29, 2025). This move, framed as cutting 'red tape,' comes just as reports detail Vietnamese children, many trafficked, working in British cannabis farms. One might wonder about the timing: the UK is addressing the symptom of
'illegal' arrivals, not the systemic exploitation fueled by demand for cheap labor—or cheap drugs. It's almost as if the government is more concerned with PR about border control than the actual human suffering it enables. This isn't about 'irregular means'; it's about a supply chain. Politicians decry 'illegal migrants' while simultaneously turning a blind eye to industries that profit from their
exploitation. How many of those 'clandestine arrivals' are trafficked for exploitation within the UK's black market, from nail salons to cannabis farms, only to be branded 'illegal' and deported when convenient? It appears the UK wants to deter the desperate, not dismantle the profitable networks that ensnare them.