By Enyichukwu Enemanna
British authorities have arrested at least 609 persons in the month of January, representing a 73 percent increase same time last year, as part of the government’s plan to tackle undocumented migration and people smuggling gangs, officials said on Monday.
The number tops the 352 arrested in January 2024. They were arrested during visits to over 800 premises including nail bars, restaurants, car washes and convenience stores, a government statement said.
The British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer of the Labour upon assumption of office last year mmediately scrapped his Conservative predecessor Rishi Sunak’s plan to deter undocumented migration to the UK by deporting new arrivals to Rwanda.
Instead he pledged to “smash the gangs” to bring the numbers down.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said employers had for too long been able to “exploit illegal migrants and too many people have been able to arrive and work illegally with no enforcement action ever taken”.
“We are boosting enforcement to record levels alongside tough new legislation to smash the criminal gangs that undermine our border security and who have been getting away with it for far too long,” she said.
Undocumented migration by people who take small, highly unsafe boats across the English Channel from northern France to southern England was a major issue in the last year’s general election which brought Starmer’s Labour Party to power.
Regular migration, which is currently running at historically high levels, estimated at 728,000 for the year to June 2024, was also a hot button issue at the polls.
About 36,816 people were detected in the Channel in 2024, a 25 percent increase from the 29,437 who arrived in 2023, provisional figures from the interior ministry showed.
As part of his plan to reduce undocumented migration, Starmer has also set up a new Border Security Command and strengthened cooperation with European partners, including Europol.
