New laws should be brought in to prevent churches being turned into mosques or places of worship for other faiths, Yusuf said, citing a need to protect British culture.
Asked whether he supported a burka ban at the press conference, Yusuf said he backs a ban on “all face coverings in public” – a shift in stance from when Yusuf briefly quit the party last year, describing a question to the prime minister about a ban on burkas as “dumb”.
He told the press conference: “I personally support a ban on all face coverings in public… that’s actually a piece of legislation that has multiple bonuses to it because it’s going to aid integration, it’s also going to help people feel safe.”
On BBC Politics Live, Yusuf went into more detail on plans to ringfence welfare payments for British citizens, saying “we’ve got to put the British people first”.
He said: “It is totally ridiculous the British spent £15bn on universal credit payments over the last 18 months alone.”
Labour Party chair Anna Turley dismissed Reform’s plans for mass deportations as “a direct attack on settled families and fundamentally un-British”.
She said: “The British people are right to expect firm control of our borders – with clear rules about who can come here and swift action against those with no right to be here – alongside action to make our country safe – and that is what Labour is delivering.
“Since taking office, Labour has removed nearly 60,000 people with no legal right to remain.
“Alongside firm enforcement and the removal of incentives that draw illegal migrants, we are also opening capped safe and legal routes to provide sanctuary to those fleeing war, in a way that is orderly and controlled.”
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp accused Yusuf of “copying and pasting Conservative plans”.
“Only the Conservatives have a credible plan to control our borders through leaving the ECHR, deporting all illegal immigrants within a week and banning asylum claims from illegal entrants.”
Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesperson Max Wilkinson compared Reform’s plans to the US immigration body ICE, saying it would bring disorder.
“It’s nonsense to claim that ripping up the European Convention on Human Rights – a largely British creation – will bring more control.
“It will undermine the cooperation we need to tackle the problem, and deprive British people of hard-won rights and freedoms too.”
The Green Party was contacted for comment.