Drop in the ocean: Just over 1,000 illegal migrant workers deported in a year despite 8,000 arrests

Just one in eight immigrants arrested for working illegally is deported, new figures show.

Of the 8,000 people arrested in Home Office Immigration Office raids last year, only 1,050 were deported from the UK.

The worker said this figure marked the largest sanctions against illegal work since records began to be kept.

But this means that less than 15 percent of immigrants caught working illegally are deported.

Home Affairs Minister Shabana Mahmood said today: ‘Illegal work creates an incentive for people trying to come to this country illegally. No more.

‘Those found working illegally in beauty salons, car washes and as delivery drivers will be arrested, detained and removed from this country.

‘I will do whatever it takes to keep Britain’s borders secure.’

The announcement comes just days after sex offender Hadush Kebatu was mistakenly released from Chelmsford Prison instead of being deported to his native Ethiopia; Meanwhile, more than 36,000 people have crossed the English Channel in small boats since the beginning of the year.

But the Home Office said arrests had risen by nearly 63 per cent on the previous year, after £5 million was invested in a crackdown on arrests and deportations of those working illegally in takeaways, beauty salons and car washes.

This comes as the Government expands right-to-work checks.

While it is a criminal offense for immigrants to work illegally, only companies using traditional employer-employee contracts are required to verify someone’s immigration status and whether they are allowed to work in the UK.

The Home Office said the new laws close this loophole so there will be no hiding place for illegal workers who flout the rules in the gig, casual, agency and gig economy.

Bosses who fail to comply with these checks can be imprisoned for up to five years, fined or their business closed.

The government said it was working with companies such as Deliveroo, Just Eat and Uber Eats to strengthen controls to prevent asylum seekers from working illegally as delivery drivers.

This follows reports that small boat migrants in asylum hotels are often working illegally in the gig economy while their claims are being processed.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced plans to introduce digital identity last month.

The cards are expected to be required for ‘right to work’ checks by the end of Parliament in 2029.

Critics say the plan, which Sir Tony Blair first praised and then abandoned while in office, is a “cynical ploy” designed to “fool” voters into thinking something is being done about immigration.

Reform, Conservative and Liberal Democrat MPs also oppose the plans.