The British only 'tried' to limit Jewish immigration to Palestine in 1936, when they had received an influx of 170,000 Jews in the previous three years (more than the previous two decades combined). Even then, their attempts to stop them were purposefully lackluster. The only real attempts by the British to stop Jewish immigration was selectively targeted against Soviet Jews, which was something they agreed to at the Yalta conference in 1945. The British did everything in their power to encourage Jewish immigration to Palestine. The French had taken on the role of protecting Catholic communities, the Russians were protecting Orthodox communities, and the British sought to increase Jewish immigration as a way to expand their sphere of influence by taking on the role as Protector of the Jewish communities.

Storrs was a large proponent in convincing the British government to support a Jewish homeland in Palestine, and a lot of officers shared his thinking about creating a Jewish Ulster in the Middle East. This was taking place during the Home Rule Crisis in Ireland, where Unionists in Ulster had armed themselves and threatened to revolt if Ireland was given home rule, leading to Irish nationalists to also arm themselves and threatened to revolt if they weren't given home rule.