London: The Keir Starmer government in the United Kingdom launched a Donald Trump-style crackdown on illegal immigrants in the country. As per of the "UK-wide blitz", India restaurants, nail bars, convenience stores, and car washes were among the targets. The UK government also released a video of the raids.
UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said her department's Immigration Enforcement teams had a record-breaking January as they raided 828 premises, which was a 48 per cent rise compared to the previous January, with arrests increasing to 609, marking a 73 per cent increase from the previous year, reported PTI. The development came days after the Donald Trump administration's crackdown on illegal immigrants in the United States.
Video released By UK Home Department:
The public must have confidence in the UK's immigration system.
— Home Office (@ukhomeoffice) February 10, 2025
Through our Plan for Change, we have removed almost 19,000 people including failed asylum seekers, foreign criminals and immigration offenders from the UK since July 2024. pic.twitter.com/QY4tpQDqSP
The Home Office said that while its teams respond to illegal working intelligence in all sectors, a significant proportion of last month's activity took place at restaurants, takeaways and cafes as well as in the food, drink and tobacco industry. The ministry said that a visit to one Indian restaurant in Humberside, northern England, alone led to seven arrests and four detentions.
"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," Cooper said as reported by PTI.
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, she added.
The crackdown on illegal immigrants was carried out at a time when the Labour Party government's Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill returned to Parliament for its second reading this week.
The new legislation aims to smash the criminal gangs that Prime Minister Keir Starmer-led administration says undermine border security.
Further Home Office statistics claim that between July 5 last year and January 31 this year, illegal working crackdowns and arrests have soared by around 38 per cent compared to the same period 12 months prior.
A total of 1,090 civil penalty notices have been issued during that phase, with employers facing a fine of up to GBP 60,000 per worker if found liable.
Last week, the United States deported 104 illegal migrants to India.