Migrants who enter illegally face banking and NHS curbs

Home Office to cut Channel crossings using new ‘hostile environment’

MIGRANTS who enter the country illegally and are working in the black market face a new crackdown on access to bank accounts, jobs and public services including education and health.

Robert Jenrick, the immigration minister, is to head a new taskforce to use “every available power” to ensure “only those eligible can work, receive benefits or access public services”.

He aims to progress Theresa May’s “hostile environment for illegal migration” that was paused in the wake of the Windrush scandal.

Bank checks on the immigration status of account holders will be reinstated, with an appeal mechanism.

It will also review legislation to prevent illegal migrants exploiting the explosion in casual, selfemployed jobs in the gig economy, such as food delivery drivers. It will be allied to a 50 per cent increase in visits to workplaces such as construction and car washes.

There has already been a 10 per cent rise in visits to 1,152 gig economy businesses since Dec 11, resulting in 362 arrests and firms issued with 92 illegal working civil penalties, worth £1.5million.

Mr Jenrick said: “Illegal working causes untold harm to communities, cheating honest workers of employment, putting vulnerable people at risk and defrauding the public purse. Our Immigration Enforcement teams are working to bring those violating our laws to justice. It’s our priority to crack down on this crime and empower law enforcement to remove illegal migrants.”

The taskforce – involving the Home Office and departments of work and pensions, transport, education and health – will investigate how to update the right-to-work regulations. Ministers want to ensure that bosses are maintaining rigorous checks on the immigration status of their staff, many of whom are self-employed.

The taskforce will examine access to rented housing, bank accounts, healthcare, education, driving licences, and public funds.

Ministers recognise that denying or cancelling a bank account would make it very difficult to live so they aim to create a simple route of redress. Officials have also been tasked to review colleges sponsored by universities to see if courses are being exploited by some migrants.

There are also concerns that some foreign students at universities are doing more hours in the black economy than the 20 a week allowed under visa rules.

The review will examine how data on the immigration status of individuals could be used to check on undocumented migrants when they use schools or use the NHS.

The Home Office is working with police to increase their role in cracking down on car washes operating illegally.

“Bosses caught employing migrants without the right to work can face fines up to £20,000 per worker, a jail sentence of up to five years, closure of their business and disqualification as a director.

Last night, Mail+ reported that the number of migrants crossing the Channel on small boats could double to 80,000 this year, according to Border Force sources.

Alp Mehmet, chair of think tank Migrationwatch, said: “These predictions are appalling, but they don’t surprise me.

“Once migrants get here, they know they can stay, and this will attract more people to try to come by boat.”