Hundreds of food delivery drivers arrested to stop asylum seekers working

Hundreds of people have been arrested as part of a government ’crackdown’ on asylum seekers working in the gig economy and as delivery couriers.

Between July 20 to 27, UK immigration enforcement officials stopped a total of 1,780 people for suspected illegal working.

Asylum seekers in Britain are normally not allowed to work while their claim is being processed. They can apply for permission after a year of waiting.

Around 280 were then arrested in areas including Hillingdon in northwest London, Dumfries in Scotland and Birmingham.

More than fifty are now having their asylum support reviewed, which the government said could result in their support being suspended or withdrawn.

Additionally, 89 have been detained pending removal from the country.

The authorities also issued 51 businesses, including car washes and restaurants, with penalty notices that could hit them with hefty fines – if they are found to have hired people who did not have the right to work in the UK.

The Home Office said it was targeting illegal working hotspots and the gig economy, in which work is assigned on a short-term basis.

Immigration enforcement teams will receive £5 million from the £100 million funding pot already announced for border security. The money is aimed at increasing visits by officers in these areas over the coming months.

Border security minister Dame Angela Eagle told Sky News: ‘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.’

Eddy Montgomery, enforcement director at the Home Office, told Sky New that officers were taking action ‘around the clock’ against ‘those who think they can get away with working illegally’.

Uber Eats, Deliveroo and Just Eat have said they will increase the use of fraud checks and facial verification to stop people working as riders without permission.

Ministers hope to tackle the ‘pull factors’ attracting migrants to the UK by targeting areas of suspected activity.

The crackdown comes as the government announced it would share information about asylum hotel locations with food delivery firms to disrupt such hotspots.

Shadow home secretary Chris Philp described to Sky News a hotel housing asylum seekers as a ‘black-market, courier hub in plain sight’ – alleging he saw food delivery riders illegally working from there.

He said the Conservatives wanted to remove asylum seekers’ status and deport them if they were found to be working illegally.

He added: ‘Labour are now boasting about arrests, but we know they are too scared to actually deport anyone.

‘People breaking the law are still being put up in hotels and handed benefits.

‘It’s a racket and Labour are letting it run.’

Professor Nando Sigona and Dr Stefano Piemontese from the University of Birmingham argued that on the surface, the crackdown on illegal gig economy work appears to be about upholding labour standards.

However, under the surface, the strategy is a mix of ‘immigration enforcement, platform governance, and algorithmic control.’

They said Ibrahim, a Sudanese migrant who arrived on a care worker visa in Birmingham, was left in limbo when suddenly unable to work at his sponsored work place.

Prof Sigona and Dr Piemontese said: ‘When the Home Office revoked his sponsor’s licence, he was left with 60 days to find a new employer in the sector. Unable to do so, he began to deliver food using someone else’s app account. Such ‘substitution’ practices are widespread and structurally embedded in the delivery sector’s self-employment model. However, as Ibrahim has since applied for asylum, while legally resident in the UK, is barred from working while his case is decided. 

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