The British government has stepped up immigration enforcement against people working without permission, with the Home Office announcing on January 13 that the continuous workplace raids and arrests have now reached their "highest level in history".

Officials said the crackdown is aimed at dismantling the “black economy” and removing what they see as a key incentive for irregular migration to the UK.

According to figures published by the Home Office, immigration enforcement teams carried out more than 17,400 raids on businesses in every region of the country between July 2024 and the end of December 2025, a 77 percent increase compared to the previous 18-month period. These operations led to more than 12,300 arrests, translating to an 83 percent increase.

The raids have targeted establishments associated with informal work where wages are often paid in cash and undeclared to the government. Authorities raided nail bars, car washes, barbers, takeaways, construction sites, and warehouses.

Home Office data indicate that London recorded the highest number of arrests, with more than 2,100 people arrested in 2025, translating to a 47 percent increase compared to the previous year. Meanwhile, in both the West Midlands and south-west England, more than 1,100 arrests were made, representing increases of 76 percent and 91 percent respectively.

Last year, an additional 5 million British pounds (approximately 5.7 million euros) in funding was allocated to immigration enforcement.

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Millions in funding

Rights groups slammed the government for touting the workplace raids as an achievement.

"This so-called ‘record enforcement’ is a shameful attack on workers whose work sustains and enriches entire sectors of the British economy, while the workers are at significant risk of exploitation. These raids don’t solve anything; on the contrary, they give more power to those businesses that cash in from exploitation and sow fear and racism in our communities," Lilana Keith, our Senior Advocacy Officer on Labour Migration of the Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants (PICUM), told InfoMigrants. 

"The UK, just like the EU, should be investing in decent work permits that let people live and work safely, and safeguards that let workers report labour abuses and access justice without risking detention or deportation. These are policies that make stronger economies and fairer societies. Workers, whatever their papers, should be protected and empowered, not attacked for political gains," Keith added.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood defended the move, saying it was necessary to restore control over the immigration system.

"There is no place for illegal working in our communities," she is quoted as saying in the Home Office press statement. "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. I will stop at nothing to restore order and control to our borders."

TikTok account for immigration raids

The UK government also took to TikTok to post videos of raids, arrests of people suspected of working without authorization in handcuffs, and then supposedly boarding a plane on a return flight, implying deportation.

The "securebordersuk" account features five videos that run for approximately 20 to 30 seconds each. The account was created on Tuesday (January 13) and currently has close to 10,000 followers.

While the TikTok account shows the state's efforts to curb the flow of irregular migration into the country, reactions from many of the followers and other netizens indicate discomfort with the government's policy or outright opposition to it.

One user known as Tinkerbell wrote, "The 1st vid posted to this account was 1 day ago! Our government created this disgusting account, just after a woman was fatally shot in America by ICE! 💔 The only control that needs restoring is the people’s control over this out-of-touch, power-hungry government!"

Another user named YOLO wrote: "This is the wrong thing to post. Especially with everything going on in the world at the moment. We are not in America, and we do not want this."

The most watched video, which was viewed over 100,000 times and garnered over 500 comments, sparked debates with some users calling the raids "necessary".

"A spokesperson for Starmer said the channel would help reach a wider audience, tackle false narratives online and directly reach migrants considering coming to Britain," news agency Reuters reported.

Record number of Channel crossings

The crackdown comes in the wake of an estimated record 41,000 people crossing the English Channel in small boats in 2025 -- the highest number since 2022.

Legislators have argued that access to work in the "shadow economy", where wages are paid in cash, and workers often include undocumented migrants, acts as a "pull factor" encouraging people to make the perilous journey across the Channel.

The government has carried out sweeping reforms to restrict the employment of undocumented and irregular migrants. In March, authorities implemented checks on workers in the "gig economy" to make sure that employees had the right to work in the country.

For the very first time, employment checks will be extended to cover businesses hiring gig economy and zero-hours workers in sectors like construction, food delivery, beauty salons, and courier services," the Home Office said in a statement.

Business owners and employers who fail to carry out the checks risk paying fines of up to 60,000 British pounds (about 69,000 euros) per worker, business closures, director disqualifications, and potential prison sentences of up to 5 years.

Overhaul of the immigration system

In November, the government outlined its plans to overhaul its immigration system in a 32-page paper, Restoring Order and Control: A statement on the government's asylum and returns policy. 

The policy outlines a "core protection" system for refugees, replacing permanent status with more limited and temporary protection while still meeting international obligations. Refugees would receive 30 months’ leave to remain instead of five years, renewable only if protection is still needed. Settlement would no longer be automatic, with refugees required to spend up to 20 years in the UK before becoming eligible for indefinite status.

A review of the policy published last week by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) criticized the proposed temporary “core protection” model, warning that granting only 30 months’ leave would create prolonged uncertainty, hinder integration, and place unnecessary financial and administrative strain on the Home Office.

UNHCR stressed that refugees are different from migrants and urged the UK to grant those recognized as refugees a stable status that allows them to rebuild their lives and reunite with their families.

"Refugees are not migrants. They are people fleeing conflict, instability, and human rights abuses - circumstances no one would willingly choose," the UNHCR said in a statement.

Meanwhile on Tuesday, the government scrapped plans requiring workers to sign up to a new digital ID system to prove their right to work in the UK. Existing checks, using documents such as biometric passports, will move fully online by 2029. Finance Minister Rachel Reeves however added that the right to work would still be contingent on providing a form of digital verification, "whether that has to be one piece of ID -- a digital ID card -- or whether it could be an e-visa or an e-passport," Reeves said, according to AFP.

Read AlsoUK: Parliamentarians push for digital ID to track and manage undocumented migrants