Raids on illegal workers reach record high in UK

The United Kingdom has cracked down on foreigners working illegally in the country, in a bid to discourage rampant irregular migration.

After official figures revealed almost 42,000 people were intercepted entering the country illegally during 2025, the government said this week it is massively ramping up efforts to prevent such arrivals from working in the black economy, which is one of the major draws bringing them to the country.

The government said enforcement officers conducted 12,791 raids during 2025 on premises associated with illegal immigrants — including nail bars, car washes, barbers, and takeaways — which was 57 percent up on the number of raids recorded in 2024.

Officers arrested 8,971 people during 2025 suspected of working illegally, which was 59 percent up on 2024.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said efforts to combat illegal working are now at the highest level ever recorded in the UK, and are benefiting from 5 million pounds ($6.7 million) of new funding and the use of technology, such as body-worn cameras.

"There is no place for illegal working in our communities," Mahmood said. "That is why we have surged enforcement activity to the highest level in British history, so illegal migrants in the black economy have nowhere to hide."

She said the clampdown is part of the UK government's efforts to "restore order and control to our borders".

Mahmood added that the number of raids conducted by enforcement officers has increased by 77 percent since July 2024, which is when the Labour Party came to power. During that time, there has been an 83 percent increase in the number of arrests, and those arrests have led to 1,726 people being sent back to their home countries.

Businesses that employ people who have no right to work in the UK have also been punished, with 61 enterprises in London alone fined a total of 3.2 million pounds last year. Companies can now be fined 15,000 pounds for every employee on their books who does not have permission to work in the UK. Repeat offenders can be fined 60,000 pounds for each illegal worker.

The crackdown in the UK is part of a trend that has been seen all over Europe, as the rise of far-right, anti-immigrant parties has pushed mainstream parties to harden their stances on immigration or risk losing power.

Recent changes have seen nations step up border controls, crack down on people-smuggling gangs, and outsource asylum processing to other countries. The European Union as a whole is also preparing to introduce new legislation later this year to tackle illegal migration. And the UK is planning to carry on with its crackdown on illegal working by introducing digital ID cards, which will be needed by 2029 to secure work.