Picture: Home Office

Nearly 4,000 illegal workers have been arrested in nationwide crackdowns on immigrants.

Nail bars and car washes were targeted by the National Crime Agency and the Home Office.

Businesses and homes were raided in a bid to tighten border security.

Warrants were used search restaurants, takeaways and cafes as well as premises in the food, drink and tobacco industry.

Picture: National Crime Agency

An operation in Cheshire targeting vape shops led to ten immigration arrests and two more for having counterfeit documents.

Eleven people were held at an Indian restaurant in the Humberside area.

A Home Office spokesman said since Labour took power in July 2024, 3,930 arrests have been made across 5,424 visits by immigration enforcement officers – a 38 per cent increase on the previous 12-month period.

Migrants are sold false promises about their right to live and work in the UK, encouraging them to dangerously cross the English Channel in small boats in trips organised by criminal gangs.

Once in the UK, illegal workers find themselves in squalid living conditions and working ceaseless hours.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said earlier:

“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.

“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.”

Last month there were 828 visits with 609 arrests made, a record-high for January action in data collected since 2019.