More than 100 immigration arrests have been made in the north as part of a new British government crackdown on the illegal working trade.
Increased activity by the Home Office’s Immigration Enforcement team since last July in the north includes almost 150 enforcement visits.
Thirty-six arrests were made at a construction site in Belfast’s Titanic Quarter in one day on March 19, with suspected offences including breaching visa conditions to illegal entry in the UK with no permission to work.
The operations are part of the Labour government’s ‘Plan for Change’, and a move to “tackle those abusing the UK immigration system and exploiting vulnerable people”.
Across the UK, officials have visited thousands of businesses including restaurants, nail bars and construction sites, as a “particular focus has been on tackling employers facilitating illegal working, often subjecting migrants to squalid conditions and illegal working hours below minimum wage”.
Between July 5 last year and May 31 this year, 113 Immigration Enforcement visits in Northern Ireland resulted in 148 arrests.
This marked a 48% rise compared to the previous 12-month period.
The government said almost 30,000 people with no right to be in the UK have been returned since last July.
Minister for Border Security and Asylum, Dame Angela Eagle, said: “This government is committed to tackling illegal working as we intensify our enforcement efforts to disrupt organised immigration networks at every level.
“There must be no hiding place from the law and these figures demonstrate our determination to curb immigration offending and disrupt unscrupulous employers.
“Under our Plan for Change, we are laser focussed on fixing our immigration system and securing our borders once and for all.”