The command was first proposed by the Labour Party in May 2024 as an alternative to the Conservative government's Rwanda asylum plan, with the aim of tackling the ongoing crisis of illegal migrant crossings on the English Channel.

[1][2] The command was proposed as Labour's alternative to the Rwanda asylum plan of the incumbent Conservative government, which the party claimed would fail to tackle the migrant crossings across the Channel and criticised as a waste of money.

[4] In the manifesto, the party pledged to establish the command with counter-terrorism powers to enable it to prosecute people smugglers should it enter government.

[8][9] On 7 July, the new home secretary Yvette Cooper launched the Border Security Command (BSC) to replace the plan, accompanied by an audit into the money already granted to the Rwandan government through the plan to see if the UK government could take it back, as well as new counter-terrorism legislation which would be drawn up in the coming weeks to tackle illegal immigration.

[7][10] The command would be funded by money previously earmarked for the Rwanda plan and would be responsible for coordinating the activities of Immigration Enforcement, MI5, the Border Force and the National Crime Agency in tackling smuggling gangs which facilitate illegal migrant crossings over the English Channel.