Tripling of fines for those supporting illegal migrants in UK

London, Aug 8 (IANS) Continuing her crackdown on illegal immigration, UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman said fines will be more than tripled for employers and landlords who rent out their properties and allow illegal migrants to work for them.

The civil penalty for employers, which was last increased in 2014, will be raised to up to 45,000 pounds per illegal worker for a first breach from 15,000 pounds, and up to 60,000 pounds for repeat breaches from 20,000 pounds.

For landlords the fines will increase from 80 pounds per lodger and 1,000 pounds per occupier for a first breach to up to 5,000 pounds per lodger and 10,000 pounds per occupier.

Repeat breaches will be up to 10,000 pounds per lodger and 20,000 pounds per occupier, up from 500 and 3,000 pounds respectively, the UK Home Office announced in a statement Monday.

Since the start of 2018, almost 5,000 civil penalties have been issued to employers with a total value of 88.4 million pounds.

Meanwhile, landlords have been hit with over 320 civil penalties worth a total of 215,500 pounds in the same period.

"Making it harder for illegal migrants to work and operate in the UK is vital to deterring dangerous, unnecessary small boat crossings. Unscrupulous landlords and employers who allow illegal working and renting enable the business model of the evil people smugglers to continue," Minister for Immigration Robert Jenrick said.

"There is no excuse for not conducting the appropriate checks and those in breach will now face significantly tougher penalties," Jenrick added.

According to the government, Illegal working and renting are significant pull factors for migrants crossing the English Channel, where people smugglers will often use the promise of jobs and housing to lure people into making these journeys.

"Increasing fines will deter employers and landlords from engaging in these illegal and dangerous practices, further deterring people from attempting to come to the UK illegally," the Home Office statement said.

"It also undercuts honest employers, puts vulnerable people at risk of exploitation, cheats legitimate job seekers out of employment and defrauds the public purse as the businesses and workers do not pay taxes."

The move coincides with the government’s launching of the Professional Enablers Taskforce today to increase enforcement action against unscrupulous immigration lawyers who coach illegal migrants to lie in order to win asylum in the country.

In April this year, the government launched a special taskforce and re-introduced data sharing with the financial sector to stop illegal migrants from accessing bank accounts.

The Home Office said it has already arrested more people in 2023 than during the whole of 2022 as a result of immigration enforcement activity, which targets illegal working.

This year, Indians became the second largest group of migrants crossing into the UK over the English Channel on small boats.

According to Home Office data, 675 Indian nationals entered the country in small boats between January and March, amid a “surge in attempts to evade work visa restrictions”.