Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood Sends a Chilling Warning to Illegal Workers and Rogue Employers

Immigration Enforcement officers have arrested 701 people after carrying out 884 visits across the West Midlands in 2026.

The number of arrests linked to illegal working increased by 22%, while enforcement visits rose by 49%. The Government says this is the highest level of immigration enforcement activity ever recorded in Britain.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood warned that people working illegally and employers who knowingly break the law now have “nowhere to hide.”

Officers have been carrying out targeted visits to businesses in many different industries across the West Midlands. The Government says these operations are aimed at stopping illegal employment, protecting honest workers and making sure businesses follow the rules.

Across the UK, enforcement activity has more than doubled over the past two years. During the first six months of 2026, officers carried out 7,270 visits connected to illegal working. This was 31% higher than during the same period last year.

Those visits resulted in 4,756 arrests, an increase of 20%.

Since July 2024, more than 17,000 people have been arrested for suspected illegal working. This was a 122% increase compared with the previous two years. Officers also carried out almost 25,000 enforcement visits across the country, representing a rise of 111%.

The number of arrested workers returned to their home countries also increased by 50%. A total of 2,357 people arrested for illegal working have been returned since July 2024.

The latest figures came after a week-long operation against organised immigration crime across the UK in June. Immigration Enforcement worked with 39 police forces and visited more than 900 businesses.

The operation led to 269 immigration-related arrests. Officials said 57 of the people arrested had previously arrived in the UK on small boats.

Several major operations were also carried out in the West Midlands.

On 23 March, officers targeted suspected illegal working in the construction industry. Fifteen people were arrested during four separate visits.

One of those arrested was later detained by West Midlands Police after fingerprint checks reportedly showed that he was wanted by Interpol in connection with a serious offence in Romania.

On 18 May, Immigration Enforcement worked with West Midlands Traffic Police during an operation targeting courier drivers working on subcontracted DPD delivery routes.

The operation resulted in 16 arrests. Five vehicles were also seized because they did not have valid insurance.

Another large operation took place in and around Birmingham city centre on 10 June. Officers carried out 16 targeted visits as part of efforts to disrupt an organised crime group and investigate employers suspected of allowing illegal working.

Nine people were arrested, three were detained, and five civil penalty notices were issued. Officers also seized approximately £1,500 in cash.

Employers found to have hired illegal workers without completing the proper right-to-work checks could face large fines.

Shabana Mahmood said illegal working harms honest workers and law-abiding businesses. She added that the Government had provided Immigration Enforcement with more resources to increase its operations.

“This surge in enforcement activity takes us to the highest level in British history. Illegal workers and rogue employers have nowhere to hide,” she said.

Matthew Foster, Immigration Enforcement and Compliance Lead for the West Midlands, said operations are continuing every day across the region.

He said officials wanted local communities to know that officers were taking action against illegal working and making sure businesses obeyed the law.

From October, businesses using gig-economy and zero-hours workers, especially delivery companies, will have a legal duty to confirm that everyone working for them has permission to work in the UK.

Employers who fail to carry out the necessary checks could face fines of up to £60,000 for each illegal worker. Company directors could also be disqualified and, in serious cases, sentenced to as much as five years in prison.

The Home Secretary has also announced plans to double Immigration Enforcement’s budget by 2028–29 and increase its workforce by 60%.

The Government says the additional funding and staff will allow officers to carry out tens of thousands more visits, arrests and removals involving people who have no legal right to remain in Britain.

By the end of March 2026, almost 70,000 people with no right to remain in the UK, including foreign criminals, had reportedly been removed or deported since the election. The Government said this represented a 41% increase.