Since the last general election, immigration enforcement efforts have surged across the UK, leading to over 6,000 arrests and nearly 9,000 site visits in a government-led crackdown
on illegal working.
Home Office figures show a 51% increase in arrests compared to the previous year, with enforcement teams targeting towns, cities, and rural areas to disrupt illegal employment practices and combat exploitation of vulnerable individuals. The campaign forms part of the government’s broader Plan for Change, aimed at dismantling organised immigration crime and curbing false job promises that fuel illegal migration routes, including small boat crossings.
Between 5 July 2023 and 31 May 2024, Immigration Enforcement officers conducted over 9,000 visits, resulting in 6,410 arrests — a sharp rise from the same period the previous year.
The clampdown has particularly focused on employers who knowingly hire undocumented workers, often under poor and exploitative conditions. Industries such as hospitality, beauty, and construction have been key targets, with many businesses found violating labour laws, including failure to pay minimum wage.
This enforcement effort runs alongside other actions to strengthen immigration control, including the return of nearly 30,000 individuals found to have no legal right to remain in the UK.
Minister for Border Security and Asylum, Dame Angela Eagle, stated:
“For too long, employers have been able to take on and exploit migrants, with people allowed to arrive and work here illegally.
This will no longer be tolerated on our watch. That’s why we are ramping up our enforcement activity and introducing tougher laws to finally get a grip of our immigration and asylum system.
Under our Plan for Change, we will continue to root out unscrupulous employers and disrupt illegal workers who undermine our border security”.
She emphasized the legal requirement for employers to carry out Right to Work checks, warning that failure to comply can lead to fines of up to £60,000 per illegal worker, director disqualifications, and even prison sentences of up to five years.
Eddy Montgomery, Director of Enforcement, Compliance and Crime at Immigration Enforcement, added:
“Our work to tackle illegal working is vital in not only bringing the guilty to account, but also in protecting vulnerable people from exploitation.
I’m incredibly proud of our enforcement teams across the country for their hard work, skill and co-operation on these often challenging but highly important operations”.
In one notable operation this March, 36 arrests were made at a construction site in Belfast’s Titanic Quarter, with offences ranging from visa breaches to unauthorized work. Other recent actions include nine arrests at a caravan park in Surrey, where individuals were found working illegally in the gig economy, and another nine arrests in Bradford at a known pickup location for illegal workers.
The government is also expanding Right to Work checks to better regulate sectors prone to exploitation, such as food delivery, construction, beauty services, and courier work. These changes aim to close gaps in the system and further disrupt illegal employment networks.
Officials warn that many individuals who arrive illegally are misled by smuggling gangs into believing they can find regular work in the UK, only to face poor living conditions, long hours, and low pay — with the constant risk of detention and removal.
The escalated enforcement marks a key pillar of the Home Office's effort to restore control over the UK's immigration system and uphold border security. Photo by ukhomeoffice, Wikimedia commons.