Suella Braverman warned of a "hurricane" of migrants coming to the UK in her speech at the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester.
The Home Secretary accused past Governments of being "too squeamish about being smeared as racist" to tackle the problem head on as she vowed to take action to reduce the numbers coming to Britain.
Warning that current immigration was "too high", she told party members that she would do "whatever it takes to stop the boats and deter bogus asylum seekers".
Giving her key note speech, the Home Secretary said: "The wind of change that carried my own parents across the globe in the 20th Century was a mere gust compared to the hurricane that is coming.
Suella Braverman vowed to do 'whatever it takes to stop the boats and deter bogus asylum seekers'
PA
"Because today the option of moving from a poorer country to a richer one is not just a dream for billions of people, it is an entirely realistic prospect."
More than 25,000 people have arrived in the UK illegally via small boats in the English Channel so far in 2023.
Despite the high number, in an interview with GB News earlier today, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pointed out that the number of crossings was down 20 per cent compared to last year.
The Home Secretary also took aim at the Human Rights Act, blaming it for the UK having such high numbers of asylum seekers.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
The Home Secretary also took aim at the Human Rights Act
PA
Describing it as the “Criminal Rights Act”, she said: “Our country has become enmeshed in a dense net of international rules that were designed for another era.
"And it is Labour that turbocharged their impact by passing the misnamed Human Rights Act."
Elsewhere she faced criticism from a Tory London Assembly member, who was kicked out of the room after he heckled the Home Secretary for making the party look “transphobic”.
Braverman had said ministers must challenge the “poison” of talk of subjects such as white privilege and gender ideology.
The Home Secretary made her speech after a visit to Bolton earlier in the day, where she said some immigrants are “not embracing British values” and are living “parallel lives” to the rest of the country.
She said: "It’s my job, first and foremost, to be honest and speak for the majority of the British people.
"And my comments have been somewhat mischaracterised.
"We have so much to be proud of. We have a great multi-ethnic society and in many parts of our country integration has worked.
"But there are also many towns and cities around the United Kingdom where it hasn’t and communities are living parallel lives.
"They are coming from abroad, they are not learning the language. They’re not embracing British values, and they’re not taking part in British life."