The Home Secretary has vowed to clamp down on migrants working illegally in the UK as delivery drivers by handing immigration officers the same powers as the police. In her first immigration raid since her post Yvette Cooper joined officers on the frontline as they swooped in on a Kent travellers’ site targeting migrants suspected of working illegally.
However, officers found that on this occasion no illegal workers were found. At the raid Cooper vowed to “intensify the focus on delivery drivers” whilst admitting that the party is “looking at what more needs to be done”. She also revealed that immigration officers will soon be able to “immediately take fingerprints on the spot” as part of a fresh blitz to cut off support when migrants abuse the system.
Currently immigration officers have to work with police officers if they want powers to enter homes or make arrests.
She told GB News: We’re intensifying the focus on delivery drivers because we know that there’s been shocking misuse and abuse… It is just disgraceful.
“We are looking at what more needs to be done to make sure that they can swiftly take the enforcement action they need.
“Immigration enforcement officers were also receiving ‘biometric kits’ so they can immediately take fingerprints on the spot, find out whether people are here lawfully or not, whether they are working lawfully or not.”
This comes after the Daily Express found riders from several food delivery companies were operating out of asylum hotels.
Over two nights, the Daily Express saw at least 10 different men leaving a migrant hotel in Central London before doing delivery work.
They attached Deliveroo, Just Eat and Uber Eats-branded carriers to their bikes and attached mobile phones to their handlebars.
Concerned MPs have also claimed that Home Office staff have no idea how many migrants are working illegally in the UK. They reportedly fail to check exit data under the skilled worker visa scheme and are unsure how many migrants are overstaying.
Around 1.2 million people have come to the UK on the visas since the scheme was launched in 2020. However, a report by Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) found ministers have never checked exit data. It was also revealed that some migrants are “working excessive hours” and in “exploitative conditions”.