A crackdown on migrants working in the UK illegally has led to a surge in arrests, the government has said.
The Home Office said the number of immigration raids on businesses such as nail bars, car washes, barbers and takeaways had increased by 77% since Labour came to power, with an 83% rise in arrests.
Opposition parties have warned that opportunities to work illegally in the UK act as a pull factor for migrants, encouraging people to cross the Channel in small boats.
More than 41,000 people made the dangerous journey in 2025, the highest number since 2022 and almost 5,000 more than the previous year.
Conservative shadow home secretary Chris Philp said “illegal working is booming because Labour have turned Britain into a soft touch”.
He added: “As long as people who arrive illegally can work, earn, and stay, smugglers have a sales pitch, a reward they dangle in front of those crossing the Channel.”
The number of people arrested during immigration raids on businesses has been rising steadily for some time and was increasing before Labour took office.
Between July 2024 and the end of December 2025, more than 17,400 businesses were raided by immigration enforcement teams, a 77% increase on the previous 18 months, according to the Home Office.
It said these raids had led to more than 12,300 arrests, which equates to an 83% rise, and more than 1,700 of those people have been deported.
Dr Peter Walsh, senior researcher at the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford, said enforcement action alone was unlikely to be a “game-changer on small boat crossings”.
He pointed out that historically detentions and removals have been far lower than arrests.
He added: “Raids may lead to some increase in removals, but they’re not the biggest source.
“The bigger impact is likely on employers, where there is evidence that workplace enforcement discourages hiring people without the right to work.”
The government said arrests by immigration enforcement teams had risen in every region of the UK, with the largest number of arrests in London, the West Midlands and south-west England.
In London, more than 2,100 arrests were made last year, a 47% rise compared to 2024.
Meanwhile, more than 1,100 arrests were made in both the West Midlands and south-west England, a rise of 76% and 91% respectively.
In Wales, 1,320 raids were carried out last year, resulting in 649 arrests – a rise of 103% and 85% respectively.
In Scotland there were 695 raids leading to 400 arrests – a rise of 61% and 49% respectively.
In Northern Ireland, 187 raids led to 234 arrests – a rise of 76% and 169% respectively.
Among the businesses raided were a warehouse in Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex, on 25 November, where 13 people were arrested, with 11 Brazilian and Romanian nationals detained for removal from the UK.
Other examples included a raid on a construction site in Swindon on 16 December, which led to 30 arrests of Indian and Albanian men, who were nearly all detained for removal.
Meanwhile, a raid on a market at Kempton Park racecourse in Surrey on 11 December resulted in 11 arrests.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: “There is no place for illegal working in our communities.
“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.”
The surge in raids followed an extra £5m of funding for Immigration Enforcement last year.
The government is also planning to introduce digital ID, which will be mandatory to prove someone’s right to work by 2029, to make it harder for migrants to work illegally.
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