Hundreds of arrests have been made across the UK as part of a “week-long crackdown” on asylum seekers taking jobs for delivery firms.
A total of 1,780 people were stopped and spoken to over suspected illegal working activity between 20 and 27 July.
Some 280 were arrested as a result – in areas including Hillingdon in northwest London, Dumfries in Scotland, and Birmingham.
Some 89 of those have been detained pending removal from the country and 53 are now having their asylum support reviewed, which the government said could result in their support being suspended or withdrawn.
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The Home Office described the operation as a “nationwide intensification week” targeting illegal working hotspots, with a focus on the gig economy, where work is assigned on a short-term or job-by-job basis, and people working as food delivery riders.
Immigration enforcement teams will receive £5m from the £100m in funding already announced for border security, aimed at increasing visits by officers in these areas over the coming months.
Deliveroo, Uber Eats and Just Eat have said they will ramp up facial verification and fraud checks over the coming months to prevent people working as riders without permission.
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Border security minister Dame Angela Eagle said: “Illegal working undermines our border security and we’re cracking down hard on it.
“That’s why we have intensified our enforcement activity right across the UK to crack down on those who think they can evade immigration and employment laws in the UK. “
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Meanwhile, 51 businesses including car washes and restaurants were issued with penalty notices that could see them handed hefty fines if they are found to have hired people without the right to work in the UK.
Eddy Montgomery, enforcement director at the Home Office, said officers were taking action “around the clock” against “those who think they can get away with working illegally”.
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Asylum seekers in the UK are normally barred from work while their claim is being processed, though permission can be applied for after a year of waiting.
Officials had indicated there would be an increase in work to target areas of suspected activity, as ministers hope to tackle the “pull factors” attracting migrants to the UK.
It comes after the government announced it would share information about asylum hotel locations with food delivery firms in a bid to disrupt such hotspots.
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Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said the Conservatives wanted to strip asylum seekers of their status and deport them, if they work illegally, and claimed “this story has only happened” because he “exposed what Labour refused to see”.
He described one hotel housing asylum seekers as a “black-market, courier hub in plain sight”, referring to food delivery riders he had seen allegedly operating out of the site without permission.
“Labour are now boasting about arrests, but we know they are too scared to actually deport anyone,” Mr Philp continued.
“People breaking the law are still being put up in hotels and handed benefits.
“It’s a racket and Labour are letting it run.”
