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Hundreds of arrests have been made as part of a “week-long crackdown” on asylum seekers working for delivery firms.
A total of 1,780 people were stopped and spoken to at locations across the UK over suspected illegal working activity between July 20 and 27.
Some 280 were arrested as a result, in areas including Hillingdon in north-west London, Dumfries in Scotland, and Birmingham, the Home Office said.
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now having their asylum support reviewed, which the government said could result in their support being suspended or withdrawn.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 crackdown was part of the Home Office’s ‘nationwide intensification week’(Alamy/PA)
The Home Office described the operation as a “nationwide intensification week” targeting illegal working hotspots, with a focus on the gig economy and people working as delivery riders.
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Immigration enforcement teams will receive ￡5 million from the ￡100 million in funding already announced for border security, aimed at increasing visits by officers in these areas over the coming months, it said.
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. ”
As well as the arrests, 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.
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Ministers Dame Angela Eagle and Justin Madders met with Deliveroo, Uber Eats and Just Eat bosses to discuss illegal working(Home Office)
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”.
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.
Deliveroo, Uber Eats and Just Eat have also said they will ramp up facial verification and fraud checks over the coming months to prevent people working as riders without permission.