Mahmood’s raids: 66.1% of 2025 engagements ended without arrest

Freedom of information requests show that Home Office immigration enforcement recorded 23,538 engagements in 2025, and 15,578, or 66.1%, ended without an arrest. The total averaged 60 engagements a day across workplace raids, home raids and spot checks.

Only 25.81% of visits that included accessing premises used a warrant, leaving nearly three-quarters without one. Nearly 89% of leads alleging “immigration crime” that year came from the public or Crimestoppers, a charity that collects anonymous tip-offs, while around 2% came from police.

The figures prompted allegations of “fishing expeditions” based on weak intelligence. The Home Office vigorously disputes that characterization, saying intelligence is thoroughly examined before an immigration raid.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has hailed the expanded use of immigration enforcement teams. She says they will help secure the UK’s borders by removing a key incentive for irregular migration.

Under Mahmood, raids have targeted establishments linked to informal “black market” work: nail bars, car washes, barbers, takeaways, construction sites, warehouses and people’s homes. TikTok videos show officers tackling people working without authorisation to the ground and locking them in the backs of vans.

The findings emerged after inquiries by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism and the Guardian, amid growing concerns about the effect on innocent workers and businesses.

What happened at Sultanz?

Last month, officers arrived in unmarked vans at Sultanz, an Indian restaurant in Camborne, Cornwall, while customers sat down to eat. The owner, Samsu Ali, said the raid felt like an invasion of his six-year-old business. “As soon as they parked … everyone runs to the kitchen, front door, back door, everywhere,” he said.

Ali said the officers had no warrant and asked every worker for their details. Nanu Mia, a Bangladeshi employee packing meals for collection, gave his details, but officers struggled to understand him.

Officers handcuffed Mia, arrested him and marched him to a van. They de-arrested and released him after his sister rushed to the restaurant with his ID card, which proved he was allowed to work.

Ali said customer numbers had fallen steeply since the raid, although Sultanz was cleared of any immigration breaches. A question about the incident in a local Facebook group then attracted racist and threatening comments. One person wrote: “People with somewhat darker skin are literally taking over our community and causing a lot of unrest.”

The comments left Ali struggling to sleep. “They don’t understand how much money and time I have spent in the last six years,” he said.

How can officers enter without a warrant?

Officers can enter licensed premises without a warrant under section 179 of the Licensing Act 2003. The category includes restaurants, pubs, hotels, cafes, and businesses that sell alcohol or provide late-night hot food.

In most cases, including more than 12,000 last year, officers instead ask the tenant, manager or owner for consent. Officers are meant to inform the person of their rights, including the fact that they can revoke consent at any time.

Once inside, officers can question individuals about their immigration status and request identity documents. They are not supposed to detain someone without reasonable suspicion that the person is an immigration offender.

Kevin Barker, a former immigration officer who now works with businesses wrongly accused of employing people without the right to work in the UK, said raids are often “fishing expeditions” based on tenuous tip-offs.

“You’re not allowed to apply for a search warrant if the intelligence you’ve got is old or an anonymous allegation that can’t be corroborated … but it doesn’t stop them,” he said.

What does the government’s enforcement record show?

The Home Office said in August that arrests of people from abroad working illegally in the UK had more than doubled since Labour entered government. More than 17,000 arrests since July 2024 represented a 122% increase on the previous two years, the department said, while 2026 recorded the most raids and arrests.

Opposition parties claim opportunities to work illegally in Britain pull migrants across the English Channel in small boats. Mothin Ali, the Green party’s deputy leader, called the findings alarming and urged the government to “end these unjustified raids and protect people’s rights”.

“This is racist harassment dressed up as immigration enforcement,” Mothin Ali said. He added: “The falling use of warrants is deeply concerning and raises serious questions about the legality of these operations. Britain must not import Trump’s ICE playbook.”

The Home Office was approached for comment.

For businesses exposed to enforcement visits, the next test is whether intelligence quality, consent safeguards and detention practices improve as raids expand. Without those changes, scrutiny of the government’s operating model could intensify, particularly given the 66.1% no-arrest rate and 25.81% warrant rate.