Home Office: Illegal working arrests quadruple in two years
The Home Office says arrests of migrants working illegally in the UK had risen since Labour came to power.
It stated there had been more than 17,000 arrests since July 2024, a 122% jump on the preceding two years, with a record number of immigration raids and arrests in the last six months.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: “We are now at the highest level of enforcement activity in British history. There will be nowhere for renegade companies and illegal labourers to hide.”
Reform UK said the latest figures were “insulting the intelligence of the British public”.
Immigration raids and illegal working arrests
Before Labour came to power in July 2024 the number of persons detained at immigration raids on businesses was climbing.
The numbers show that there has been a 50% spike in people being returned to their home nations since then, with 2,357 in total.
Immigration raids in the first six months of this year jumped to 7,270, or 31 percent more than the same period last year, resulting in 4,756 arrests, or 20 percent more.
London, West Midlands and South West England have the highest arrest rates.
Around 1,256 arrests were made in the capital, a 32% increase on the same period in 2025.
Meanwhile 701 people were arrested in the West Midlands and 693 in the South West – up 22% and 44% respectively.
Employer penalties for illegal workers
Employers in the beauty, retail and hospitality sectors have been issued with £74m worth of civil penalties so far this year.
The figures are:
30 May: 10 people arrested on immigration violations from 13 staff members met at a restaurant on King’s Road in London
23 March: 15 arrested in raids on illegal construction workers
11 June: Raids on two large distribution depots in Newbury, Berkshire, and Basingstoke, Hampshire, nine arrested, most for overstaying and suspected unlawful working
Illegal working and UK immigration debate
Opposition parties have warned that the prospect of working illegally in the UK acts as a pull factor for migrants, encouraging people to cross the Channel in small boats.
Reform UK said on Thursday it will pay members of the public for tip-offs leading to successful prosecutions of High Street shops employing illegal workers.
The party committed to punish huge companies up to 10 percent of worldwide revenues and make senior executives and directors legally accountable for illegal work.
Responding to the new data, Reform home affairs spokeswoman Zia Yusuf said: “The British public can see the scourge of illegal working growing all around them. “Labour is insulting their intelligence by saying it’s not.”
The Home Office said it was already raising sanctions on companies employing illegal workers.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said earlier this year: “Illegal working is booming because Britain has been turned into a soft touch by Labour”.
Right to work checks for UK employers
Companies have a legal responsibility to check that people they employ directly have the right to work in the UK. In the case of agency workers the required checks must be carried out by the agency.
From 1 October, firms who are found to be employing unlawful workers in the gig economy, such delivery riders, could face fines of up to £60,000 per illegal worker or five years’ imprisonment.