Leeds Anti-Raids Action was established in December 2020, inspired by other anti-raids groups across the UK. At the start, we were just a few friends working for a local charity supporting people seeking asylum. We’d already seen how power gets used differently depending on where you live and who you are. This was especially visible during the pandemic, as we saw everyday the area that we worked in – predominantly Black, Brown and Asian, with many migrant communities – was being policed far more aggressively than other parts of the city. We also saw the human cost of hostile environment policies up close and the gap between how people’s lives are talked about in the media and what we knew to be true. The people accessing the charity weren’t headlines or stereotypes: they were parents, siblings, friends, workers and neighbours: messy, complex, funny, exhausted, loving and doing their best under pressure. Immigration status is one part of their lives and not the sum of who they are. ​​The UK immigration system disempowers people through law by restricting access to basics many of us take for granted like stable work, a safety net, and somewhere safe to live. This often forces impossible choices, and people do what they need to do to survive and protect the people they love – something most of us can recognise and relate to.

The Home Office calls raids “immigration control” but in reality they function as tools of fear: groups of officers turning up at workplaces and homes with no warning, relying on the fact that many people don’t know their rights, and using intimidation to create panic. Raids overwhelmingly hit low-wage sectors such as car washes, takeaways, nail bars and increasingly delivery drivers and other gig-economy workers deepening existing inequality and making it easier for employers and agencies to exploit workers who are already being denied basic rights and security. You can see the contradiction in the latest national figures. In 2025 there were 12,791 workplace raids and 8,971 arrests, yet only 1,087 removals. That means barely 12% of arrests ended in removal. Even as raids and arrests increase, the Home Office is not “fixing” anything but it is escalating intimidation.

From the start, our approach to resisting immigration raids has been practical and rooted in community care. Twice a month, we have been doing outreach across Leeds speaking with local businesses about their rights and sharing simple anti-raids guidance for owners, workers and customers. We make regular Freedom of Information requests to the Home Office which help us to monitor which areas are most impacted by immigration raids and changing patterns in the city. We also run community events and collaborate with other local groups. Our hope is that more people understand what raids look like and what their rights are so communities can better protect each other. Raids are designed to create shame, isolation and fear so through outreach we try to interrupt that with knowledge, connection and solidarity.

People often assume “standing up to raids” means physically confronting officers or blocking a van. For most people, that isn’t safe or realistic and it isn’t the only way to resist. Raids rely on secrecy, confusion and fear, so some of the strongest resistance is in the everyday: talking about raids openly and sharing clear information with the people around you, like friends, family, neighbours, colleagues, local shops and workplaces. You don’t have to be a legal expert (there are plenty of accessible resources out there) but even knowing a few basics can make a real difference. For example, when you don’t have to let officers in, when you can walk away, and when you don’t have to answer questions. When people feel able to ask questions, check paperwork, read a warrant carefully, call someone for support, and look out for each other, communities become harder to intimidate. 

In the time we’ve been around, we have physically intervened in raids when we could. But we don’t romanticise those moments. They are frightening and destabilising – not just for the person targeted, but for co-workers, customers, neighbours, family, housemates and children. When our communities do use their bodies to block vans it is a very visceral reminder of how deeply we can care for one another, and how far people will go to protect each other in the face of state violence and government-sanctioned abduction and detention.

But it’s only one form of solidarity and it’s important to reiterate that it isn’t the only way to resist. We can’t depend on heroic moments to dismantle an oppressive system. It takes many roles sustained over time. We believe our power lies in consistency and the everyday work of building relationships, sharing clear rights information, and taking small practical actions that add up so we hope, that communities feel more prepared, less easily intimidated and more confident to assert their rights. Beautiful moments of collective resistance like Kenmure Street in May 2021 don’t happen by accident – they’re only possible because of years of quiet groundwork building trust and connection. For us this has been through consistent community outreach.

That groundwork is also how we sustain our energy as a community. It’s where we look after each other, share the load, and stay connected with our values and to each other. It’s how we keep showing up over the long term, even when the fight feels hopeless and we’re exhausted. We believe that this is how we sustain, how we grow, and how we build a movement.

We want the public to see raids for what they are, which is a deliberate strategy of fear that divides neighbours and distracts from the real causes of hardship (structural inequality, underfunded services, privatisation, insecure work, systemic racism, punitive welfare system and political choices that reward wealth… to name a few.) Raids sit within the Hostile Environment and within capitalism, both of which push us towards disconnection and competition instead of care and shared protection. Our response is the opposite – we aim to build connection and trust. It matters to remember that migration isn’t an exception or a threat but it’s part of the fabric of life, shaping our histories, our food, our music, fashion, architecture, our families, friends and love stories and the communities we build together. Staying connected is what makes resistance possible.

Finally, this is a call to action. We’re inviting you to step up, and yes, to get a bit uncomfortable. That doesn’t have to mean putting your body in front of an enforcement van or joining a protest. There’s a time and place for different tactics, and we all have a role: cooking, childcare, translation, welfare support, fundraising, logistics, admin, comms, outreach, or simply being a calm, informed person others can turn to.

A good first step is to learn more. Watch our video on how to spot and resist a raid, and what community protection can look like through know-your-rights outreach and connection. You can also find resources, guidance and your local group on the Anti-Raids Network website. And honestly one of the most powerful places to start is close to home with a conversation with your neighbours, coworkers, local shops, or community groups.

It’s worth repeating: dignity is inherent to being human and it isn’t something you earn through paperwork, productivity, or the accident of where you were born. If we genuinely care about dignity, stability and safe communities, the answer can’t be raids.

– Ally Swadling and Leeds Anti-Raids Action