The Labour government has announced a “major surge” in immigration enforcement.

The Home Office’s stated motivation for the increase in enforcement is to “smash criminal gangs’ who smuggle people into the UK, but the actions they aim to take will instead punish people who have come to the UK to seek safety, and those who employ them. 

What we know so far

What we know so far comes from a press release which the Home Office released today, on 21 August 2024. In summary, its plan is as follows:

• The Home Office will aim to achieve in the next 6 months the “highest rate of removals” of people with no leave to remain (including unsuccessful asylum claims) since 2018. There would need to be 3,000 more removals this year than last year in order to reach the 2018 levels of 9,000 enforced removals – it is unclear whether this is actually achievable, as it would require a lot of coordination and will cost a lot of money. It also does not factor in the reality that there will likely be plenty of legal challenges against removals. 

• In order to carry out this increased enforcement, the Home Office intends to hire 100 new intelligence officers to work at the National Crime Agency. 

• The Home Office intends to increase detention capacity in the UK to achieve this aim, by reopening the Campsfield (shut in 2018) and Haslar (shut in 2015) immigration detention sites.

• The Home Office aims to target employers who employ people with no leave to remain (immigration status) in the UK, by increasing sanctions against employers. We are not sure yet what those sanctions will be.

What do we do? 

This is yet another horrible development and cause for anxiety and distress for our communities. Month after month, people in the migrant community and those who support them are faced with cruel Home Office plan after cruel Home Office plan. 

That this announcement has been made not even two weeks after the horror of race riots in the UK is truly horrendous. At a time when racialised communities need to feel the solidarity of community and belonging, they are being made to feel even more unwelcome and unsafe. 

At Right to Remain, we firmly believe that no one is illegal, and that migration is a natural human phenomenon. Everyone deserves to be and stay wherever they need to be. We stand in solidarity with our community, and will provide updates as swiftly as we can. 

Until then, please do take the time to understand the realities (and your rights) in the event of the following: 

• To understand more about Immigration Detention, when you may (or may not) be at risk of detention, how to prepare for detention, and what your rights are in detention, please read our Toolkit guide. 

• To learn about the difference between removal and deportation from the UK, and how to challenge them, please read our Toolkit guide.

• To understand your rights as a migrant worker in the UK, please read our Key Guide. 

• To learn about immigration raids (when immigration enforcement officers come to your home or place of work), what to do in a raid, and what your rights are during a raid, please read our Legal Update blog.