Home Office release footage of deportations as almost 19,000 migrants removed
Social media campaigns warning about the dangers of illegal working in Britain have gone live in Vietnam and Albania, but migrants continue to cross the Channel
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Almost 19,000 foreign criminals and failed asylum seekers have been deported since July as the Government steps up illegal working raids.
A crackdown on immigration crime saw removals increase by nearly 25% between July 5, 2024 and January 31, the Home Office announced
The department also released video footage of people being set back to countries in Africa, Europe, Asia and South America for the first time on Monday.
Illegal working raids on businesses suspected of hiring foreign workers are up by 38% compared to the same period 12 months prior, a spokesman said. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper was due to join police on a bust later this week.
About 1,000 Government employees have been redeployed to work on enforcement, resulting in a 21% rise in foreign national offenders being sent home compared to the previous 12 months, according to the Home Office.
This included the four biggest deportation flights in the UK’s history, with a total of more than 850 people on board.
Home Office
In January almost 750 enforced returns, including around 360 foreign national offenders, took place.
More than 800 businesses, including nail bars, shops, takeaways, restaurants and car washes, were also visited by immigration officers resulting in 609 arrests.
This included six people arrested at a South London grocery warehouse, ten people during raids on Cheshire vape shops and seven arrests made at an Indian restaurant in Humberside.
Ms 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 that undermine our border security and who have been getting away with it for far too long.”
Social media adverts containing the real stories from migrants who entered Britain illegally and then faced debt and exploitation, have gone live in Vietnam and Albania in recent months.
The campaign also warns people about the realities of illegal working, the Home Office said.
However, people continue to arrive in Britain on small boats. In the last seven days 259 migrants made the perilous journey across the English Channel from France, the latest Home Office figures show.
The Government's Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill was being debated in the House of Commons in its second reading on Monday.
Home Office
It aims to introduce a raft of new offences and counter terror-style powers to crackdown on people smugglers.
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 proposals, people selling and handling boat parts suspected of being used in 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.
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".
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.
Reacting to the deportation footage, Green Party co-leader Carla Denyer said: "This Labour government are plumbing new depths with their plan to broadcast footage of people being detained and deported.
"Those involved should be searching their consciences to ask if such breathtaking cruelty is really worth it all for the sake of aping the rhetoric of Reform.
"The bitter irony is that following Reform to the right on migration won't win Labour any support - it will only lend legitimacy to Reform's extreme views."
Ms Cooper denied suggestions that the Labour government's decision to publish footage of raids was in response to Reform UK's poll ratings, instead saying it had been part of the party's election manifesto.
The raids and arrests were defended by Home Office minister Dame Angela Eagle, who insisted they was in line with Sir Keir Starmer's previous pledge to create an immigration system "based on compassion and dignity".
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