LONDON, June 27, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - The UK interior ministry has announced it will create new legal routes for asylum seekers, including allowing community organisations to sponsor refugees based on a similar system in Canada. The system will come into place later this year, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said late Friday, with organisations and some "trusted" universities able to sponsor refugees and first arrivals expected in autumn 2027. A route for employers to sponsor refugees is also expected to open next year, the Home Office said in a press release. Immigration and asylum are thorny issues in the UK, where the hard-right Reform UK party has rapidly grown in popularity, riding a wave of anti- immigrant sentiment. Keir Starmer, who stepped down as prime minister this week but will remain in power until his successor is chosen, has tried to appear tough on immigration since coming into power two years ago. His government will next week introduce legislation in parliament tightening asylum rules, including making it easier to deport failed asylum seekers and restricting family reunion for refugees to immediate family members. The immigration policies of his likely successor Andy Burnham -- who could replace Starmer as early as July -- remain unclear, though he has acknowledged migration concerns in his recent campaign to become an MP. It is also uncertain whether Mahmood, the straight-talking face of Starmer's immigration crackdown, will remain in her post under the next prime minister. "I will open new legal routes for genuine refugees, while closing loopholes that have been too often abused," Mahmood said in a statement. The new sponsorship scheme will "operate at a much higher capacity" than the UK Resettlement Scheme, which brought around 800 people in the year ending September 2025. The Home Office did not detail how many refugees could benefit from the scheme, but said it would be "capped". Previous sponsorship schemes have been targeted at countries including resettlement for refugees from Syria or Afghanistan. Earlier this year, Mahmood faced criticism from charities and within her own party over tough regulations, including making refugee status temporary and  banning education visas for some countries including Afghanistan, Myanmar and Sudan.