Mahmood’s ICE-style immigration raid agency accused of ‘fishing expeditions’

AI Summary

UK immigration enforcement teams conducted 23,538 engagements in 2025, with 66.1% resulting in no arrests; fewer than 26% of premises visits involving access used a warrant. Critics say the figures point to weakly supported searches, while Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has defended expanded enforcement as a way to deter irregular migration.

Exclusive: Almost two-thirds of visits lead to no arrests and nearly three-quarters are conducted without a warrant Shabana Mahmood’s ICE-style raid agency has been accused of engaging in “fishing expeditions” after figures disclosed that almost two-thirds of enforcement visits result in no arrests and nearly three-quarters are conducted without a warrant. The home secretary has hailed the expanded use of immigration enforcement teams, and claimed they will help to secure the UK’s borders by removing a key incentive for irregular migration. There were 23,538 immigration enforcement engagements such as workplace raids, home raids and spot checks in 2025 – or 60 a day. Of these, 15,578, or 66.1%, resulted in no arrests. Only 25.81% of visits where a premises was accessed used a warrant. Critics say this suggests the Home Office is launching “fishing expeditions” based on weak intelligence. Nearly nine out of ten (89%) of leads alleging “immigration crime” in 2025 came from the public or from Crimestoppers, a charity that collects anonymous tip-offs. Around 2% came from the police. Continue reading...