UK cracks down on its illegal workforce

The United Kingdom has launched a major crackdown on people working illegally in the country.

The initiative, which also focused on disreputable companies employing people illegally, led to hundreds of arrests.

The Home Office, which is the UK's interior ministry, said enforcement officers spoke to 1,780 people, many of them delivery drivers, during the initial weeklong crackdown between July 20 and July 27. It said 280 of them were subsequently arrested, with many having been identified as asylum seekers who had claimed refugee status in the UK and who were, therefore, supported by the government and not allowed to work.

The Home Office said 89 people from among those who were arrested during the operation carried out in parts of London and Birmingham in England, and in Dumfries, Scotland, were detained pending removal from the UK. And another 53 people are having their status reviewed and could subsequently be removed.

Police officers also seized 71 vehicles during the crackdown, including 58 e-bikes.

Minister of State for Border Security and Asylum Angela Eagle said: "Illegal working undermines our border security and we're cracking down hard on it. That's why we have intensified our enforcement activity right across the UK, to crack down on those who think they can evade immigration and employment laws in the UK."

The crackdown was centered on industries that are well known for employing people illegally, which include those in the so-called gig economy in which people are hooked up with short-term jobs via online platforms, and delivery drivers.

Fifty-one businesses, including several car washes and restaurants, were given penalty notices and could now be fined for illegally employing people who were not entitled to work in the UK. The fines could be as much as 60,000 pounds ($80,659) for each illegal worker they hired.

Eagle and Justin Madders, the parliamentary under-secretary of state for employment rights, competition, and markets, also sat down with representatives from delivery companies, including Deliveroo, Uber Eats, and Just Eat, to talk about how illegal working could be discouraged within the sector.

Asylum seekers are usually not allowed to work in the UK while their claims are being processed. If they are subsequently granted refugee status, they are usually then given permission to work.

The UK government has said it believes the ease with which people have been able to work illegally has been among the pull factors that have encouraged people to illegally enter the country on small boats to claim refugee status. It said mitigating that pull factor was one of the reasons it launched the crackdown.

By the end of July, more than 25,000 people had entered the UK illegally on small boats during 2025 to claim asylum.

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