UK’s ‘Trump-style’ crackdown on illegal workers targets Indian restaurants, stores

As the British government moves to clamp down on illegal workers, several Indian restaurants and convenience stores have come under scrutiny. Restaurants, nail bars, convenience stores, and car washes were among the targets of what the Home Office on Monday, February 10, described as a “UK-wide blitz” on illegal working in the country.

The Home Office said 828 premises were raided in January, a 48 per cent increase compared to the previous year. A total of 609 people were arrested, marking a 73 per cent rise from the same period a year ago, reported PTI.

British authorities raided businesses that employed unauthorised workers and deported thousands of migrants with no right to stay in the UK.

A raid at an Indian restaurant in Humberside, northern England, led to the arrest of seven people and four detentions.

What’s billed as a “blitz on illegal working” is part of a pledge by the center-left Labour government to reduce immigration—a priority for many voters—and stop the growing popularity of the hard-right party Reform UK.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government is resorting to Trump-style TV footage of deportation flight processes. The footage showed men being deported, escorted off a bus and up the stairs of a plane.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper’s office said that while its teams respond to illegal working intelligence in all sectors, a significant proportion of January’s activity targetted restaurants, takeaways and cafes, as well as the food, drink and tobacco industry.

The government said nearly 19,000 failed asylum seekers, foreign criminals and other immigration offenders had been expelled from Britain since the election "following a major escalation in immigration enforcement by the Home Office".

Respect UK immigration rules

"The immigration rules must be respected and enforced. For far too long, employers have been able to take on and exploit illegal migrants, and too many people have been able to arrive and work illegally with no enforcement action ever taken," said Cooper.

"Not only does this create a dangerous draw for people to risk their lives by crossing the Channel in a small boat, but it results in the abuse of vulnerable people, the immigration system, and our economy," she added.

"We're also working upstream to deter people from entering the UK illegally by launching a new international campaign to debunk people smugglers' lies. Social media adverts went live in Vietnam in December and Albania in January, highlighting real stories from migrants who entered the UK illegally, only to face debt, exploitation, and a life far from what they were promised," the Home Office said.