Arrests of illegal workers have reached their highest level since records began, with London barbershops, delivery drivers, and restaurants targeted in raids. More than 8,000 migrants were detained in 11,000 immigration enforcement visits across the UK between October 2024 and September 2025, according to Home Office figures. Some 1,050 people arrested have been deported.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood vowed to close a loophole that allows gig economy employers to avoid fines for employing illegal workers. “Illegal working creates an incentive for people attempting to arrive in this country illegally. No more,” she said. “Those found to be illegally working in beauty salons, car washes and as delivery drivers will be arrested, detained and removed from this country.”
Businesses visited included Promen Barbershop in Battersea, where three Brazilian nationals were arrested. There has been a 63% year-on-year increase in arrests and a 51% rise in Home Office raids as part of “Operation Sterling”, a £5 million boost to immigration enforcement. Traditional businesses face fines of up to £60,000 per illegal worker, but gig economy employers currently escape such penalties.
Border Security Minister Alex Norris admitted people think it is “too easy” to “melt illegally” into the UK economy but insisted the government had sent “a really strong signal” with its raids. A six-week consultation on expanded “right to work” requirements opens this week, and plans to introduce digital ID before the end of this Parliament aim to further crack down on illegal working.
