1,000 immigrants kicked out of UK after crackdown on illegal workers | UK | News
Last year, a record number of illegal working immigrants were arrested and more than 1,000 were expelled from the country. More than 8,000 migrants working as delivery drivers, car wash workers and nail technicians were stopped by police in 12 months, new Home Office figures reveal.
The number of arrests has increased by 64% as part of a major offensive called Operation Sterling, in which police have made 21,858 visits since September 2024. This number increased by 38% from 15,894 in the previous 12-month period, and there was a massive 56% increase on the 13,990 visits made in the same period to September 2012.
The previous peak of 20,989 was reached in the period to September 2015. Enforcement visits by officers may be made to workplaces or home addresses to check on someone’s status or for illegal employment or other immigration offences. Delivery firms Deliveroo, Just Eat and Uber Eats have increased real identity and right-to-work checks to address concerns of illegal operating through their platforms.
The crackdown on food delivery firms follows a Daily Express investigation that found men staying at an asylum hotel in central London were illegally serving takeaways.
Other figures show visits for illegal work totaled 11,052 in the year to September; This number is up 51% on the previous 12 months, when there were 7,343 visits.
The move comes as ministers seek to crack down on illegal work in the UK as part of efforts to deter those coming into the country illegally.
Immigration authorities have been given £5 million to arrest, detain and remove immigrants working illegally in places such as takeaways, beauty salons and car washes.
Elsewhere, data shows 8,232 illegal workers were arrested through September; a 63% increase from 5,043 in the previous 12 months.
Home Affairs Minister Shabana Mahmood said: “Illegal work creates an incentive for people trying to come to this country illegally. No more.
“Anyone found working illegally in beauty salons, car washes or as delivery drivers will be arrested, detained and removed from this country. I will do whatever is necessary to keep Britain’s borders secure.”
The government will launch a six-week consultation today (Wednesday) on plans to extend right-to-work checks to more employers, including in the so-called gig economy.
Under current law, right-to-work checks to confirm a person is fit to work in the UK are only required for companies with traditional employer-employee contracts.
But ministers want to close a “loophole” regarding temporary, casual or agency workers also having to prove their status.
Under the plans, employers who fail to comply with the checks would face up to five years in prison or a £60,000 fine for each illegal worker they employ.
The consultation will hear from businesses on their current recruitment procedures and aim to guide them to introduce stronger right-to-work controls.
