Enforcing Immigration Rules

Local Immigration Teams are being introduced across the UK, alongside Local Crime Partnerships with police, as part of a major refocus of the work of the UK Border Agency (UKBA).

Around 7,500 UKBA officers and staff up and down the UK will be reorganised into 70-80 Local Immigration Teams and given a clear mission to focus on local immigration crime.

Labour’s plans, set out in the ‘Enforcing the Deal’ document published on Thursday 19 June, set a clear focus for the removal from the UK of the most harmful people first.

This will be achieved through measures including:
• automatic deportation for serious offenders;
• more than 1,000 extra immigration staff focused on enforcement duties;
• action against employers who break the law; and
• new partnerships with local authorities and enforcement agencies to shut down the privileges of the UK to those breaking the rules.

Together these measures show how the UKBA plans to detect, detain and deport those with no right to be in the UK and to provide support to businesses and communities to ensure the country gets the migrants who will benefit UK socially and economically.

We are delivering a compassionate system, that makes and enforces decisions quickly when we have obligations to honour - and that lets those we need in the UK to make the contribution they can, as long as they speak English, pay tax and obey the law.