609 migrants arrested in UK for working illegally

Police in the UK have arrested 609 migrants for working illegally. Officials said on Monday that immigration enforcement agencies arrested more than 600 illegal immigrants in January on suspicion of working illegally, as part of the new Labour government’s plan to tackle illegal immigration and people smuggling rings. However, it is not yet known which countries they are from.

The arrests are 73 percent more than the same period a year ago, according to a Reuters report. A government statement said 609 people were arrested in January this year. The number was 352 in January 2024. More than 800 places, including nail bars, restaurants, car washes and shops, were raided and illegal immigrants were arrested.

Last year, Nokia Starmer took office as British Prime Minister. Immediately after taking office, he scrapped his Conservative predecessor Rishi Sunak’s plan to crack down on undocumented immigration to the UK and deported new arrivals to Rwanda.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said employers had been exploiting illegal immigrants for too long. “Many people are working illegally. There is no effective action being taken against them,” she said. “We are increasing law enforcement at record levels alongside tough new laws to weaken our border security and dismantle criminal gangs that have long gotten away with it.”

Illegal migrants, who make the perilous journey across the English Channel from northern France to southern England in small, unsafe boats, were a major issue in the general election last July that brought Starmer’s Labour Party to power. Home Office figures show that some 36,816 people were detected crossing the Channel in 2024, up 25 percent from 29,437 in 2023.

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