My research will investigate the adoption of alternative approaches to irregular migration in the UK since 2018. The inception, delivery and evaluation of pilots under the Conservative government occurred amidst explicit appeals to anti-immigrant sentiment, populism and nationalism, focused on exclusion and deportation. Despite demonstrating successful alternative irregular migration approaches, including ‘alternatives to detention’, government policy continues to draw on the Border Spectacle, illegalisation of migrants, and racialisation of immigration in political discourse and rhetoric. By unearthing the underlying dynamics driving UK immigration rhetoric and policymaking, my work will bridge divides between rhetoric, statutory / humanitarian responses and lived experience.