After US, UK cracks down on illegal immigration, hundreds arrested, deported
According to the UK Home Office, enforcement teams raided 828 premises and made 609 arrests in January alone. Indian restaurants are among those raided by authorities during the crackdown on illegal immigrants.
At a time when Donald Trump's 'largest deportation operation in US history' continues to make headlines, the United Kingdom has also stepped up its operation against illegal immigrants in the country. In recent weeks, hundreds of premises, including restaurants, nail bars, convenience stores, and car washes that employ migrant workers, were raided.
Indian restaurants among those raided
According to the UK Home Office, enforcement teams raided 828 premises and made 609 arrests in January alone.
Indian restaurants are among those raided by authorities during the crackdown on illegal immigrants.
We are rebuilding public confidence in the immigration system by showing that rules must be respected and enforced. pic.twitter.com/avlS3OwPPW
¡ª Home Office (@ukhomeoffice) February 10, 2025
A visit to one Indian restaurant in Humberside, northern England, alone led to seven arrests and four detentions, the Home Office said.
UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said employers had for too long been able to "exploit illegal migrants, and too many people have been able to arrive and work illegally with no enforcement action ever taken".
19,000 illegal immigrants removed from UK
The UK Home Office also shared a video showing illegal immigrants boarding deportation flights.
According to the Home Office, around 19,000 people, including failed asylum seekers, foreign criminals, and immigration offenders, have been removed from the UK since July 2024.
The public must have confidence in the UK's immigration system.
¡ª Home Office (@ukhomeoffice) February 10, 2025
Through our Plan for Change, we have removed almost 19,000 people including failed asylum seekers, foreign criminals and immigration offenders from the UK since July 2024. pic.twitter.com/QY4tpQDqSP
Charter flights have been used to remove "immigration offenders" to countries around the world, including four of the biggest migrant return flights in the UK's history, carrying more than 800 people.
Those removed on these flights are said to include criminals convicted of drug offences, theft, rape, and murder, it noted.
¡°We cannot allow the criminal gangs to end up putting lives at risk in this way or to undermine our border security,¡± Cooper said.
Illegal immigration to UK
Like the US, Indians make up a large section of the illegal immigrant population in the UK.
Most of the Indians entering the UK illegally arrive by small boats and then seek asylum on arrival.
250 Illegal Migrants arrived via small boat into the Uk yesterday
¡ª James Goddard (@JamesPGoddard90) December 5, 2024
That's another 250 parasites completely reliant on state welfare
Remigration NOW
pic.twitter.com/xb9Jarc9rl
The number of Indians seeking asylum in the UK in 2023 surpassed the 5,000 mark for the first time. In 2023 alone, more than 1,000 Indians crossed the English Channel from Europe to enter the UK illegally.
For more news and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News.
Bobins Abraham is the Assistant News Editor at Indiatimes. He has more than twelve years of experience in TV and digital journalism. An avid student of history and geopolitics, he is a conservationist and environmentalist at heart. He writes on environment, sustainability, human-animal conflict and more.
Read More