Minister defends publishing raids footage in illegal worker arrests crackdown
Dame Angela Eagle said it is important to show what the Government is doing as it announced thousands of illegal workers were arrested since July.
A Home Office minister has defended the Government’s decision to publish footage of immigration raids as part of a border security crackdown as she insisted Labour’s policy is “compassionate”.
Dame Angela Eagle has said it is important to show what the Government is doing as the Home Office announced a surge in arrests of illegal workers across sites including restaurants, nail bars and car washes in January this year.
Last month there were 828 visits with 609 arrests made, showing a 73% rise in arrests compared with 2024 and a record-high in January action in data collected since 2019, according to the Home Office.
Asked about the Government’s decision to publish pictures and footage of immigration raids, Dame Angela told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “It’s important that we show what we are doing and it’s important that we send messages to people who may have been sold lies about what will await them in the UK if they get themselves smuggled in.
“They are more likely to be living in squalid conditions, being exploited by vicious gangs.
“It’s important that we get those realities across and it’s important that that’s done in imagery as well as words.”
Footage released on Monday showed officers raiding properties and escorting those under arrest to the back of vans.
Asked whether the policy is in line with Sir Keir Starmer’s previous pledge to create an immigration system “based on compassion and dignity”, Dame Angela added: “I don’t believe for one minute that enforcing the law and ensuring that people who break the law face the consequences of doing that, up to and including deportation, arrest, is not compassionate.
“We have to have a system where the rules are respected and enforced.”
The minister also denied suggestions that the Government’s policies on illegal immigration were a bid to counter Reform UK, telling Times Radio: “That’s not why we’re doing it.
“What we are doing is enforcing the rules and if people who aspire to come to this country illegally think that it’s easy for them to come in and get work then we are showing the world that that is not accurate.”
Media reports have suggested some Labour MPs on the left of the party are uncomfortable with plans to publish footage from immigration raids, which could also include videos of deportations.
Meanwhile, other Labour parliamentarians who represent areas under threat from Reform UK have formed a pressure group urging ministers to go further and faster in its efforts to crackdown on immigration.
Some 3,930 arrests have been made across 5,424 visits by immigration enforcement officers since July 5 when Labour took power to January 31, in what is understood to be a 38% increase compared to the previous 12-month period.
Those arrested made the journey through a mix of routes including by crossing the English Channel and by overstaying their visas, and were discovered in a number of sectors ranging from nail bars to convenience stores.
When they arrive, officers often find illegal workers in squalid conditions working inhumane hours for employers who are avoiding taxes and undercutting competing businesses.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the Government is boosting enforcement to “record levels”.
“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,” she said.
“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.”
A Government social media campaign discouraging people from making the journey to the UK was launched in Vietnam in December and Albania in January.
The adverts highlight 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.
The drive comes as the Government’s Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill is set to be debated in the House of Commons in its second reading.
It aims to introduce a raft of new offences and counter terror-style powers to crack down on people smugglers bringing migrants across the English Channel.
The measures are expected to come into force as soon as possible once the legislation is approved by MPs and Lords, believed to be this year.
Among the plans, people selling and handling boat parts suspected of being used in Channel crossings could face up to 14 years in prison, while anyone at sea during the dangerous journeys who endangers another life could face a five-year jail term.
Meanwhile, police and enforcement agencies would be handed powers including to seize and search electronic devices, before an arrest, if they suspect they contain information about organised immigration crime.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer previously vowed to treat people smugglers as “terrorists” in a bid to curb Channel crossings, but ministers have stopped short of setting a target on reducing the number of arrivals via the smuggler route.
But human rights group Liberty has warned the Bill sets a “dangerous precedent” in bringing in counter-terror-style powers for offences that are not terrorism, while there are insufficient safeguards to protect people from being prosecuted “needlessly”.
Meanwhile, the International Rescue Committee UK has welcomed the Government’s commitment to reforming the asylum system but urges for safe routes to the UK to be established for those fleeing conflict and persecution.
IRC advocacy director Denisa Delic added: “Without more safe alternatives for those in need, vulnerable people will continue to be forced into the hands of smugglers and even more dangerous routes as their only option for seeking protection.”
Under the Bill, the Safety of Rwanda Act will be scrapped to formally ditch the multimillion-pound deal to send migrants to the east African state, while parts of the Illegal Migration Act will also be repealed.
Ministers are understood to keep measures from the law for operational reasons, including a cap on the number of people arriving under safe and legal routes and time periods migrants can be detained.
Law Society of England and Wales president Richard Atkinson has urged for the Bill to go further by repealing all parts of the Illegal Migration Act and for the “detrimental” Nationality and Borders Act to be ditched, while he warned for more resources for immigration legal advice.
“Any new legislation will fail unless there are enough immigration legal aid solicitors available and we urge the Government to allocate sufficient resources in accompaniment to the Bill,” he said.
The Conservatives said they had put forward an amendment to the Bill in a bid to include their own immigration proposals: to double how long it takes migrants to get indefinite leave to remain and after that, wait five years rather than one before they could apply for citizenship.
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said: “This is a weak Bill that won’t stop the boats.
“As the National Crime Agency said, an effective removals deterrent is needed to do that, which Labour have scrapped. Shockingly, the Bill also restores an illegal migrant’s capability to claim indefinite leave to remain.”
A Labour spokesperson said: “Instead of backing Labour’s Bill, the Tories have come out with a chaotic mixture of reheated ideas and shoddy policies. They have no credibility – they oversaw soaring small boats crossings and record high net migration.
“This Labour Government has a serious plan to smash the people-smuggling gangs with counter-terror style powers, giving law enforcement the ability to pursue these vile criminals. With removals at a six-year high, Labour are getting on with fixing the mess the Tories left behind.”
