The UK’s immigration enforcement teams have drawn sharp criticism after newly released data showed that two-thirds of their operations in 2025 failed to result in any arrests, while nearly three-quarters were carried out without legal warrants. Freedom-of-information requests reveal that out of 23,538 immigration-enforcement engagements, about 60 a day, 15,578 (66.1%) concluded without detentions. Only 25.81% of premises accesses were authorised by a warrant. Almost nine out of ten (89%) of the leads alleging immigration crime came from the public or the charity Crimestoppers, and around 2% originated from the police. The Home Office disputes the “fishing-expedition” characterisation, saying the intelligence behind raids is thoroughly examined before deployment.
Under Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, raids have targeted sectors associated with informal or “black-market” work, including nail bars, car washes, barbers, takeaways, construction sites, warehouses and private homes. Videos posted on TikTok have shown officers tackling workers to the ground and locking them in the back of vans, although many of those taken to police stations are later released without charge.
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Legal provisions allow officers to enter licensed premises, such as restaurants, pubs, hotels or cafés, without a warrant under section 179 of the Licensing Act 2003, or, in most cases, to seek the consent of the tenant, manager or owner (more than 12,000 such entries were recorded last year). When exercising this power officers must inform individuals of their rights, including the ability to revoke consent at any time. Once inside, they may question people about their immigration status and request identity documents, but they are not supposed to detain someone without reasonable suspicion that the person is an immigration offender.
Kevin Barker, a former immigration officer who now works with businesses wrongly accused of employing undocumented workers, said raids are often “fishing expeditions” based on tenuous tip-offs. “You’re not allowed to apply for a search warrant if the intelligence
