Windrush backlash warning

THE battle to halt illegal immigration is being undermined by a growing backlash against the authorities in the wake of the Windrush scandal, an official report warns today.

David Bolt, Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration, said Windrush had had a “significant” effect on enforcement as targets were abolished, removals of illegal workers fell and other agencies increasingly resisted helping immigration officers.

With the demise of Theresa May’s “hostile environment” policy under her successor Sajid Javid, the chief inspector also revealed there had been an increase in public and professional hostility towards immigration officials.

Enforcement teams faced growing attempts to disrupt their work through violence against officers or their property, threatening behaviour, verbal abuse and protests, he said in his report investigating the Home Office’s efforts to tackle illegal workers.

Illegal workers and their supporters

appeared to have coordinated some of the threats against Immigration Compliance and Enforcement (ICE) teams through social media. “Some public reactions to ICE teams appeared spontaneous and relatively petty. Some were more serious and had raised concerns about the safety of ICE teams in the field and about their ability to carry out their duties effectively,” said Mr Bolt.

Internal government estimates in 2015 suggested there were between 190,000 and 240,000 businesses employing illegal migrants. From April 2015 to August last year, ICE teams mounted almost 23,500 raids on illegal workers, identifying some 84,000 indi- viduals. They arrested 14,800.

Mr Bolt said: “The general view from those interviewed by inspectors was that Windrush had fundamentally altered the environment in which Immigration Enforcement operated, in particular the declared move away from removal targets had left some unsure about what ‘success’ now looked like, and this was affecting morale. It had also affected staff recruitment and collaboration with other government departments and others, who were perceived to be less willing to be associated with Immigration Enforcement and with compliant environment measures.”