By Deborah Hardiman

Copyright expressandstar

The Home Office said that officers acting on tip-offs made the arrests on Wednesday (September 17) after a string of visits including to construction premises. There were a total of 21 arrests, 12 individuals detained for deportation and two civil penalty referral notices issued to businesses.

Further enquiries will now take place to identify the liable employers who could face substantial civil penalties if found to have employed illegal workers and failed to conduct relevant pre-employment checks.

At Powder Coating WM in Ash Street in Bradley, near Bilston, officers arrested nine men of Indian nationality for offences including working in breach of visa conditions and overstaying their visas. Subsequent house searches led to the arrest of two further men for overstaying their visas. Seven individuals were detained as a result pending their removal from the UK and a civil penalty referral notice was issued to the business premises.

At Triple Warm Sealed Units in Dudley Road East in Oldbury two men of Indian nationality were arrested for working in breach of visa conditions and illegal entry to the UK. Searches at residential addresses identified four further men of Indian nationality who were arrested for illegal entry to the UK, overstaying their visa and working in breach of their visa conditions. All four were detained pending their removal from the UK and a Civil Penalty Referral Notice was issued to the business premises.

An arrest was later made at SS Concrete Mix Ltd on Price Street in Bilston of an Indian man who had overstayed his visa. The individual was subsequently placed on strict immigration bail and is now required to report regularly to the Home Office.

Three further arrests were made at residential addresses in Smethwick including two men and one woman, all Indian nationality, for overstaying their visa in the UK. One man was detained pending his removal from the UK.

The enforcement action forms part of the Government’s zero tolerance approach to illegal working under its Plan for Change and follows a 50 per cent surge in visits and arrests since July last year.

Alex Norris, Minister for Border Security and Asylum, said: “We know many people who end up working illegally in the UK are often sold false promises about their ability to live and work here and, in reality, they are made to live in squalid conditions and work illegal hours for little to no pay.

“This abuse of vulnerable people, our immigration system and our economy will not be tolerated. That’s why we are coming down hard on illegal working – ramping up arrests and enforcement visits by 50 per cent and removing people with no right to be in the country. We will also continue to ensure employers and those facilitating this type of criminality face the full force of the law.”

Stuart Lomax, of the Home Office’s Immigration Enforcement Team, said: “These results highlight the scale of our activity to tackle illegal working and is just one example of the type of work that takes place across the region seven days a week.

“I hope this sends a clear message that we will not tolerate illegal working and will continue to ramp up our activity to ensure those who break immigration rules face the full force of the law. Ramping up illegal working enforcement activity forms a key part of the Home Office’s drive to restore order to the immigration system under the government’s Plan for Change.”

Between July 2024 and June 2025 officers have carried out over 10,000 enforcement visits and made more than 7,000 illegal working arrests across the UK – an increase of around 50 per cent compared to the same time the previous year. A total of 2,105 civil penalty notices have also been issued to unscrupulous businesses hiring illegal workers.

Immigration Enforcement teams will receive a £5 million funding boost to tackle illegal working.