Arrests of UK illegal workers have hit a record high. More than 1,000 illegal workers were removed from the UK following mass immigration raids. The UK Government removed over 1,050 migrants from the country following the Home Office’s largest crackdown on illegal working on record. Moreover, arrests increased by 63 percent.
Under Operation Sterling, the Government invested £5 million in Immigration Enforcement. They want to target, arrest, detain, deport, and return UK illegal workers in takeaways, fast food delivery services, beauty salons, and car washes.
UK Illegal Workers: Removal from the UK
UK illegal workers must go back to their homelands. More than 1,000 illegal workers were removed from the UK following mass immigration raids. The UK Government removed over 1,050 migrants from the country following the Home Office’s largest crackdown on illegal working on record. Moreover, arrests increased by 63 percent.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood believes the mass clear-out will make people avoid coming to the UK by small boat. Mahmood said that Illegal working motivates people who attempt to arrive in this country illegally. Those found to be working illegally in beauty salons, car washes, and as delivery drivers will be arrested and prosecuted. They will be detained and removed from this country. He said he would do whatever it takes to secure Britain’s borders.”
Immigration Enforcement Raids: Operation Sterling
More than 8,000 migrants were arrested in 11,000 Immigration Enforcement raids from October last year to September 2025. Border Security Minister Alex Norris insisted that it was an excellent result, given that 1,000 deportations were successful from 8,000 arrests. However, he admitted the Government needed to go much further. “We want to go further; we’re using the law to its fullest. We’ve taken as I say the highest amount on record, but we need to go much further,” he said. “We intend to go much further; we’re literally passing legislation as we speak. People want to come to Britain because they think they can melt into the illegal economy.”
The Government was pushing much harder against legal challenges to deportation, Norris, Minister of State at the Home Office, said. Ever since ministers committed £5m to Operation Sterling, arrests and immigration officer visits have risen by 63 per cent and 51 per cent respectively. Operation Sterling targets unauthorized working.
The Government expanded right-to-work checks to improve the immigration system. Moreover, bosses who fail to comply may face jail time. They also face fines of £60,000 per illegal worker or have their businesses closed.
Arrests of UK Illegal Workers: Tough New Laws
Arrests of the UK’s illegal workers have risen to their highest levels since records began. It follows an uplift in enforcement action. Under Operation Sterling, the Government invested £5 million in Immigration Enforcement to target, arrest, detain, deport, and return UK illegal workers in takeaways, fast food delivery services, beauty salons, and car washes.
New figures show more than 8,000 illegal migrants are under arrest. It follows the 11,000 raids of the Immigration Enforcement from October 2024 to September 2025. The data reveal a significant year-on-year increase of 63% and 51% for arrests and visits, respectively. Over 1,050 foreign nationals encountered on these operations have been removed from the country. This comes as the Government is expanding rights to work checks under tough new laws to ensure they cover categories of employers where there are higher levels of illegal migrants seeking work, including gig economy employers.
No Hiding, No Loophole: No Illegal Workers
It is a criminal offence for migrants to work illegally. However, only companies using traditional employer-to-employee contracts are required to verify someone’s immigration status and confirm whether it permits them to work in the UK.
The new laws close this loophole, so there will be no hiding place for illegal workers who flout the rules in the gig, casual, subcontracted, and temporary worker economy. Bosses who fail to conduct these checks may face imprisonment for up to 5 years. They also face fines of £60,000 per illegal worker and have their businesses closed.
Cracking down on UK illegal workers also addresses an incentive to come to Britain illegally, by taking steps to shrink the black economy and penalize rogue employers who ignore immigration rules. Illegal working creates an incentive for people attempting to arrive in this country illegally.
Those found to be working illegally in beauty salons, car washes, and as delivery drivers will be arrested, detained, and removed from the country. Government sources stated that many individuals who come to the UK end up working illegally. They are given false promises about their ability to live and work in the UK. Then, they risk their lives by crossing on a small boat.
Crackdown on Illegal Working: No Way to Circumvent the Law
The UK government’s recent announcement of a new partnership with major food delivery platforms marks a sharp escalation in its immigration enforcement strategy. Branded as a ‘crackdown on illegal working in the gig economy’, the initiative will see platforms cross-reference rider accounts against lists of asylum accommodation sites and suspend those suspected of account sharing or unauthorised work.
Eddy Montgomery is a director of enforcement at the Home Office. He said the arrests send a strong signal that there is no hiding place from the law. The Government will continue to increase its activity to ensure the full consequences.
Take Ibrahim, a Sudanese migrant who initially arrived on a care worker visa. When the Home Office revoked his sponsor’s license, he had 60 days to find a new employer in the sector. Unable to do so, he began to deliver food using someone else’s app account. Such ‘substitution’ practices are common and are structurally inbuilt in the model of self-employment adopted by delivery companies.
As Ibrahim has submitted an asylum application, he is now a UK resident with full legal status. However, he is ineligible to work while his case is decided. Immigration enforcement has undergone significant changes in nature under the Labour government. Immigration raids increasingly target workplaces.
Nationwide Arrests: Wales has the Highest Rate
More than 8,000 illegal migrants were detained across the UK within the past 12 months. The latest immigration enforcement figures showed. This represented a 63% increase from 2023-24 across the UK, with southwest England and Northern Ireland experiencing the largest proportional rises. Arrests in Wales included seven Chinese nationals at a construction site on the Gower earlier this month.
There were three arrests for illegal work at a barber in Porthmadog last month. Moreover, a visit to warehouses in Caldicot in August resulted in eight further arrests for illegal working. There was a 95% rise in the number of visits by enforcement officers to inspect illegal working in Wales.
