Home Office launches new immigration raids

The Home Office is launching a fresh wave of immigration raids for illegal working and boasting of record numbers of deportations as Labour attempts to counter the growing political threat from Reform UK.

Ahead of the second reading of the new border security bill today, officials announced that both illegal working visits and arrests since Labour came to power had soared by about 38% compared with the previous 12 months.

Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, is expected to join an early morning raid this week targeting illegal working, while the government will broadcast footage of deportations, a number of them involving foreign criminals, from detention to removal centres and on to waiting planes.

The government believes its record on migration could help retain Labour voters tempted by Nigel Farage’s party. More than 16,400 failed asylum seekers, irregular immigrants and foreign criminals deported since the election, although more than half left the country voluntarily.

Latest -10 February 2025 – 3,930 illegal workers arrested over six months.