In January, UK immigration police arrested 609 undocumented migrant workers. This figure represents a 73% increase compared to January 2024, when 325 workers were arrested.
They were detained from over 800 pubs, restaurants, garages, and department stores across various cities, including London. Immigration officials stated that Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour government has decided to control the number of undocumented migrants and dismantle the criminal gangs facilitating their entry into the UK. This crackdown was carried out as part of that decision.
Controlling undocumented migrants was also a major challenge during the tenure of Starmer’s predecessor, former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. To address this issue, his government had decided to deport hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants to Rwanda and had even signed an agreement with the Rwandan government.
However, after taking office last year, Starmer canceled that agreement and announced that strict nationwide operations would continue to control the number of illegal migrants.
Recently, UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper stated at an event, “For a long time, employers have been exploiting undocumented migrants, and the country continues to receive a significant number of asylum seekers. Until now, no strict legal action has been taken against them.”
“During the previous government, our border security system was weakened, allowing human trafficking gangs to thrive. We have now launched continuous strict operations to eliminate these criminal gangs and are also amending border security laws.”
It is worth noting that while the UK is part of Europe, it is not directly connected to the continent’s mainland. It is separated from France by a narrow body of water known as the English Channel, which is approximately 562 kilometers long and varies in width from a maximum of 240 kilometers to a minimum of 34 kilometers.
Despite being relatively small compared to other seas, the English Channel is a dangerous route for travel due to its cold waters and frequent adverse weather conditions throughout the year.
However, it remains one of the world’s busiest commercial shipping routes. It is also the primary route used by many undocumented migrants attempting to enter the UK.
Legal immigration to the UK is also increasing each year. Between January and June 2024, a record 728,000 legal migrants entered the country. No previous year had witnessed such a high number of immigrants in the first six months.