Andy Burnham has signalled support for asylum seekers being given the right to work as Britain continues to battle a youth unemployment crisis.
While the Greater Manchester Mayor was clear he would not "shy away" from concerns over small-boat crossings, Mr Burnham said too many people were being left "in limbo".
Labour's candidate for the Makerfield by-election told The Guardian there had to be "balance" in the system, stressing the importance of safe routes to the UK for refugees.
Opposition politicians were quick to slam Mr Burnham's comments, accusing the former health secretary of being "soft and weak".
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp told MailOnline: "Andy Burnham is clearly an open borders fanatic.
"Most asylum seekers are illegal immigrants, letting them work will make the UK even more of a magnet than it is already.'Illegal immigrants from across Europe will flock to the UK in even greater numbers if they know they can work here.
"What's the point of having rules for work visas if illegal immigrants can just circumvent them?
" We should be deporting illegal immigrants, not letting them work. Andy Burnham is clearly just as soft and weak as [Keir] Starmer."
Meanwhile, Reform's home affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf calledn it a "boneheaded proposal" that will create "yet another massive incentive for people to come here illegally".
He added: 'So more small boats and more people gaming the system...[they would be] detained and deported immediately under a Reform government, with no right to claim asylum."
It comes after the Office for National Statistics said the number of people aged between 16 and 24 and not in employment, education or training, so-called Neets, rose to 1.01 million in the three months from January to March.
A review published by former health secretary Alan Milburn estimated this number could rise to one in six young people by 2031, representing 1.25 million young people.
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Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer described Mr Milburn’s report as "sobering", and said he "will not allow a lost generation".
However, Mr Milburn was quick to insist there is "no evidence" of a link between migration and joblessness among young people.
He branded immigration a "blame game issue", suggesting an expected fall of net migration into negative figures in the near future could present an "opportunity", with businesses facing a shortage of skilled labour potentially filling posts with currently jobless young people.
His report stated there is not one cause alone of the Neets issue, with factors including the pandemic, smartphones, a lack of readiness for work on leaving school and the jobs market.
Allowing asylum seekers to work while waiting for their claims to be processed has long been supported by backbench left-wing Labour MPs, as well as the Green Party.
Green leader in the Commons and Herefordshire North MP Ellie Chowns said:"[The Conservatives] allowed a massive backlog of asylum claims which has resulted in local hotels being used for accommodation.
"The Green Party embraces the right to claim asylum, in any country, as set out in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. And we need a fast and fair process to assess asylum applications.
"It is inhumane, as well as costly to UK tax payers, to have to wait years for a decision. The UK Government quite rightly created safe and legal routes for people fleeing Ukraine. They need to offer the same to others seeking safety from similarly dangerous situations.
"We also want to see those seeking asylum and protection to be allowed to work while their application is being decided. That’s the way to get them out of hotels and able to look after themselves and contributing to local communities."
Meanwhile, Mr Burnham has signalled support for Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood's asylum reforms.
He said: "I applaud the Home Secretary, actually, for the way in which she’s faced up to some of the issues that need to be gripped."
"I’ve always been a Labour politician that’s about unifying people, trying to be positive and working together. That’s my approach to politics. I think politics needs less division and less factionalism these days."
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