Arrests for unlawful work have doubled in a 12 months as police concentrate on “unscrupulous” employers who exploit undocumented migrants, the federal government says.
Immigration officers arrested greater than 6,400 folks prior to now 12 months in raids at companies throughout the UK, knowledge launched by the House Workplace exhibits. It mentioned the determine is 51% larger than the earlier 12 months.
It didn’t present numbers as to what number of arrests led to costs, convictions or deportations.
It mentioned immigration enforcement officers had “intensified” their work to “tackle those abusing the UK immigration system and exploiting vulnerable people”.
Officers had visited greater than 9,000 companies – amongst them eating places, nail bars and development websites – to test paperwork and dealing circumstances.
Such companies had typically subjected migrants to “squalid conditions and illegal working hours” in addition to below-minimum wages.
The House Workplace mentioned there have been a spread of industries exploiting migrant staff.
In a single case in Surrey, officers arrested 9 folks at a caravan park who had been working as supply drivers.
At one one main operation in March, officers arrested 36 folks at a constructing website in Belfast’s Titanic Quarter. Some had breached visa circumstances whereas others did not have working rights.
Immigration Enforcement director Eddy Montgomery mentioned there have been many circumstances the place folks travelling to the UK have been “sold a lie by smuggling gangs that they will be able to live and work freely in the UK.
“In actuality, they typically find yourself dealing with squalid dwelling circumstances, minimal pay and inhumane working hours,” he said.
Dame Angela Eagle, the minister for border security and asylum, said the government would “proceed to root out unscrupulous employers and disrupt unlawful staff who undermine our border safety”.
The government said it had also returned nearly 30,000 people over the past year who did not have the right to be in the UK.
It has said it is cracking down on illegal migration, setting out its plans in a White Paper to tighten work visas and those overstaying. It scrapped a special visa for care workers introduced during the pandemic, noting that this had been a pathway exploited by some.
There was mixed reaction to the plans, with some business sectors decrying the restrictions on work visas, while some Conservative opponents said the reforms didn’t go far enough to stop illegal migration.
The latest knowledge exhibits that roughly 44,000 folks have entered the UK illegally within the 12 months to March 2025, greater than 80% by means of small boat journeys.
