Illegal work arrests increase by over 50% compared to last year in attempt to 'tackle those abusing the UK immigration system'

The government attributes this surge to an "intensified" campaign targeting employers and workers who breach immigration rules.

Officers conducted checks at over 9,000 establishments, including restaurants, nail salons and construction sites.

The Home Office characterised the operation as part of efforts to "tackle those abusing the UK immigration system and exploiting vulnerable people".

However, the department did not disclose how many of these arrests resulted in prosecutions, convictions or removals from the country.

The enforcement actions have uncovered exploitation of migrant workers across various industries.

Workers have been subjected to "squalid conditions and illegal working hours" alongside wages below the legal minimum, according to the Home Office.

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In Surrey, nine individuals working as delivery drivers were detained at a caravan park.

A major operation in Belfast's Titanic Quarter in March resulted in 36 arrests at a construction site, where some workers had violated visa terms, whilst others lacked any right to work.

Immigration Enforcement director Eddy Montgomery said many migrants had been "sold a lie by smuggling gangs that they will be able to live and work freely in the UK."

He said: "In reality, they often end up facing squalid living conditions, minimal pay and inhumane working hours."

Dame Angela Eagle, the minister for border security and asylum, pledged that the government would "continue to root out unscrupulous employers and disrupt illegal workers who undermine our border security".

The crackdown forms part of broader immigration enforcement efforts that saw nearly 30,000 people returned from the UK over the past year.

The government has outlined plans in a White Paper to tighten work visa requirements and address overstaying, including scrapping a pandemic-era special visa for care workers that had been exploited.

Latest figures indicate approximately 44,000 people entered the UK illegally in the year to March 2025, with more than 80 per cent arriving via small boat crossings.