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UK immigration enforcement teams arrested more than 600 people for working illegally in January, marking a 73% increase from the same period last year, officials announced on Monday.
The 609 arrests, up from 352 in January 2024, came after visits to over 800 businesses, including nail salons, restaurants, car washes, and convenience stores, according to a government statement.
Upon taking office last year, Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer scrapped the Conservative government’s controversial plan to deport undocumented migrants to Rwanda. Instead, he vowed to “smash the gangs” responsible for people smuggling and illegal employment.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper stated that for too long, employers had been able to exploit illegal migrants without facing enforcement action. She vowed that the government would implement tougher measures to target those facilitating undocumented work.
Undocumented migration, particularly crossings of the English Channel in small boats, was a central issue in last July’s general election. Starmer faces pressure to curb both legal and illegal migration to counter the rise of Reform UK, the anti-immigration party led by Nigel Farage, which gained around four million votes in the election.
Figures from the Home Office show 36,816 people crossed the Channel in 2024, a 25% increase from 2023. In response, Starmer’s government has established a new Border Security Command and strengthened cooperation with Europol, Germany, and Iraq to dismantle smuggling networks.
The government has also increased deportations of irregular migrants, reaching the highest level since 2017. Meanwhile, the proposed Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, which would grant law enforcement counter-terror-style powers to disrupt human trafficking gangs, is set for its second reading in parliament on Monday.
