Thousands of illegal workers arrested in dramatic raids: Channel migrants are caught at ‘black economy’ car washes, vape shops, takeaways and nail bars_Nhy
Thousands of illegal migrant workers have been arrested in a series of dramatic raids on nail bars, car washes and restaurants.
Some 3,930 arrests have been made across 5,424 visits by immigration enforcement officers since July 5 when Labour took power to January 31, in what is understood to be a 38 per cent increase compared to the previous 12-month period.
Home Office officials said 609 arrests of illegal workers were made last month, the highest since figures began being collected in 2019.
There were also 828 raids on workplaces suspected of illegally employing foreign staff in January, up from 556 in the same month last year and from 171 in January 2019.
The Government has begun releasing details of the raids in the wake of polls showing Labour would lose more seats to the Reform party than the Conservatives would.
The Red Wall group of around 40 Labour MPs has called on its ministers to send a stronger message on immigration to head off the electoral threat.
Officers from the Home Office’s Immigration Enforcement agency have uncovered migrants who arrived illegally across the Channel also working illegally, it was revealed.
Illegal workers can end up living in ‘squalid’ conditions and working ‘inhumane hours’ for ‘little or no pay’, Home Office sources said. Gangs involved in people trafficking have been driving illegal migration by giving migrants ‘false promises’ about their ability to work here, they added.
Immigration enforcement officers have targeted thousands of premises since the election, including one at a car wash in August
Car wash workers being led away during the raid over the summer
Other footage shows National Crime Agency officers going into a house
The video was released as part of the Home Office’s attempts to project a tough stance on immigration enforcement
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: ‘The immigration rules must be respected and enforced.
‘For far too long, employers have been able to take on and exploit illegal migrants and too many people have been able to arrive and work illegally with no enforcement action ever taken.
‘Not only does this create a dangerous draw for people to risk their lives by crossing the Channel in a small boat, but it results in the abuse of vulnerable people, the immigration system and our economy.
‘That’s why, as part of our Plan for Change, we are boosting enforcement to record levels alongside tough new legislation to smash the criminal gangs.’
A raid on vape shops in Cheshire led to ten immigration arrests and two criminal arrests for counterfeit documents, a Home Office spokesman said.
An enforcement visit to an Indian restaurant in Humberside led to seven arrests and four detentions. And one to a grocery warehouse in south London resulted in six arrests and four people being detained.
In Wales and the West of England, the number of arrests made in January more than doubled compared with a year earlier, from 45 to 101.
MailOnline joined immigration enforcement officers as they stormed a bedding and mattress factory in Tipton last year
Workers suspected of being in the UK illegally are led away by a Home Office enforcement team
Home Office minister Dame Angela Eagle today defended the Government’s decision to publish footage of immigration raids.
‘It’s important that we show what we are doing and it’s important that we send messages to people who may have been sold lies about what will await them in the UK if they get themselves smuggled in,’ she told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
‘They are more likely to be living in squalid conditions, being exploited by vicious gangs.
‘It’s important that we get those realities across and it’s important that that’s done in imagery as well as words.’
Asked whether the policy is in line with Sir Keir Starmer’s previous pledge to create an immigration system ‘based on compassion and dignity’, Dame Angela added: ‘I don’t believe for one minute that enforcing the law and ensuring that people who break the law face the consequences of doing that, up to and including deportation, arrest, is not compassionate.
‘We have to have a system where the rules are respected and enforced.’
A Government social media campaign discouraging people from making the journey to the UK was launched in Vietnam in December and Albania in January.
Immigration officials carrying out a dawn raid on the home of a suspected people smuggler in Southampton
In Oldham, immigration Enforcement officers found makeshift shipping containers that had been turned into a kitchen and living room
The shipping containers had been set up on a scrapyard to house the illegal workers
The adverts highlight stories from migrants who entered the UK illegally ‘only to face debt, exploitation and a life far from what they were promised’, the Home Office said.
The drive comes as the Government’s Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill is set to be debated in the House of Commons in its second reading.
It aims to introduce a raft of new offences and counter terror-style powers to crack down on people smugglers bringing migrants across the English Channel.
The measures are expected to come into force as soon as possible once the legislation is approved by MPs and Lords, believed to be this year.
Among the plans, people selling and handling boat parts suspected of being used in Channel crossings could face up to 14 years in prison, while anyone at sea during the dangerous journeys who endangers another life could face a five-year jail term.
Meanwhile, police and enforcement agencies would be handed powers including to seize and search electronic devices, before an arrest, if they suspect they contain information about organised immigration crime.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer previously vowed to treat people smugglers as ‘terrorists’ in a bid to curb Channel crossings, but ministers have stopped short of setting a target on reducing the number of arrivals via the smuggler route.
But human rights group Liberty has warned the Bill sets a ‘dangerous precedent’ in bringing in counter-terror-style powers for offences that are not terrorism, while there are insufficient safeguards to protect people from being prosecuted ‘needlessly’.
Meanwhile, the International Rescue Committee UK has welcomed the Government’s commitment to reforming the asylum system but urges for safe routes to the UK to be established for those fleeing conflict and persecution.
Joanna Gomulska (left) and Maros Tancos (right) forced more than 40 Slovakian ‘slaves’ to carry out nearly £1million worth of work for free at their car wash in Southmead, Bristol
The couple’s car wash in Bristol, which was staffed by ‘slaves’
The conditions of the cramped rooms where car wash ‘slaves’ controlled by Maros Tancos and Joanna Gomulska lived
The poor conditions in Tancos and Gomulska’s flat are likely being replicated in scores of other locations across the UK
Workers were locked in the house and had identity documents and mobile phones taken during the modern slavery and human trafficking operation
IRC advocacy director Denisa Delic added: ‘Without more safe alternatives for those in need, vulnerable people will continue to be forced into the hands of smugglers and even more dangerous routes as their only option for seeking protection.’
Under the Bill, the Safety of Rwanda Act will be scrapped to formally ditch the multimillion-pound deal to send migrants to the east African state, while parts of the Illegal Migration Act will also be repealed.
Ministers are understood to keep measures from the law for operational reasons, including a cap on the number of people arriving under safe and legal routes and time periods migrants can be detained.
Law Society of England and Wales president Richard Atkinson has urged for the Bill to go further by repealing all parts of the Illegal Migration Act and for the ‘detrimental’ Nationality and Borders Act to be ditched, while he warned for more resources for immigration legal advice.
‘Any new legislation will fail unless there are enough immigration legal aid solicitors available and we urge the government to allocate sufficient resources in accompaniment to the Bill,’ he said.
The Conservatives said they had put forward an amendment to the Bill in a bid to include their own immigration proposals: to double how long it takes migrants to get indefinite leave to remain and after that, wait five years rather than one before they could apply for citizenship.
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said: ‘This is a weak Bill that won’t stop the boats.
‘As the National Crime Agency said, an effective removals deterrent is needed to do that, which Labour have scrapped. Shockingly, the Bill also restores an illegal migrant’s capability to claim indefinite leave to remain.’
A Labour spokesperson said: ‘Instead of backing Labour’s Bill, the Tories have come out with a chaotic mixture of reheated ideas and shoddy policies. They have no credibility – they oversaw soaring small boats crossings and record high net migration.
‘This Labour Government has a serious plan to smash the people-smuggling gangs with counter-terror style powers, giving law enforcement the ability to pursue these vile criminals. With removals at a six-year high, Labour are getting on with fixing the mess the Tories left behind.’
