The UK government has significantly intensified its immigration enforcement efforts, leading to the removal of nearly 19,000 foreign criminals and individuals without legal status
since taking office.
This surge in deportations includes failed asylum seekers, foreign offenders, and other immigration violators who have been returned to various countries across Africa, Asia, Europe, and South America. The escalation follows a strategic redeployment of 1,000 Home Office staff dedicated to immigration enforcement, reinforcing the government’s commitment to swift removals of those without legal rights to remain in the UK.
Between 5 July 2024 and 31 January 2025, the number of enforced returns increased by 24%, removals of foreign national offenders rose by 21%, and illegal working raids surged by 38% compared to the same period in the previous year. These efforts mark the highest rate of removals recorded in the UK since 2018 and include four of the largest charter flights for deportations in UK history, carrying over 850 individuals in total.
For the first time, the Home Office has also released images showcasing the removal process, providing greater transparency into its operations.
The government views the increase in removals as a crucial component of its broader Plan for Change, aimed at restoring public confidence in the immigration system. This initiative focuses on dismantling people-smuggling networks through tougher enforcement measures, swiftly deporting illegal migrants, and countering false promises of employment that traffickers use to lure individuals onto illegal migration routes.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper stated:
“To restore trust in our immigration system, we must ensure that rules are upheld and enforced. As part of our Plan for Change, we have significantly increased resources for immigration enforcement, ensuring that those with no legal right to remain—particularly those who have committed crimes—are swiftly removed.
I want to commend the hard work of Immigration Enforcement staff and Home Office officials who work tirelessly to ensure our removal system operates firmly, fairly, and efficiently.”
Deportations and removals of foreign national offenders and failed asylum seekers continue regularly, with final statistics to be confirmed later in the year as part of the Home Office’s official reports.
Increasing removals is a key element of the government’s comprehensive approach to strengthening border security and stabilizing the asylum and immigration system. Tackling illegal working is also central to this strategy, with Immigration Enforcement conducting 828 raids in January alone—the highest number recorded for that month in over five years.
During these operations, officers also play a vital role in identifying and supporting victims of human trafficking and modern slavery through the National Referral Mechanism (NRM). This system ensures the government meets its obligations to detect, protect, and assist adult victims. Officers are trained to recognize signs of trafficking and slavery during enforcement actions, referring affected individuals to the NRM for appropriate support.
In the coming months, the government plans to introduce new counter-terror-style powers to identify, disrupt, and dismantle human smuggling operations. This initiative is part of broader legislative measures aimed at bolstering UK border security, with a second reading of the proposed legislation currently taking place in the House of Commons. Photo by Steve Cadman, Wikimedia commons.