Bosses who hire illegal migrants 'fail'

Immigration minister says fines should be 'prohibitively expensive' for law breakers Photo: James Manning/PA Wire

Workshops, car washes, construction, social assistance and hospitality will be targeted by the new regime's enforcement as key businesses exploit migrants who have entered the UK illegally, often by small boats.

Under a fine scheme first revealed by The Telegraph, civil penalties for employers will triple from £15,000 to £45,000 per illegal worker for a first violation and increase to £60,000 for repeat violations — from £20,000.

For landlords, who sometimes collude with the companies that hire them, fines will rise from £80 per tenant and £1,000 per tenant for a first offense to £5,000 per tenant and £10,000 per tenant. Repeat violations will amount to up to £10,000 per tenant and £20,000 per tenant, compared to £500 and £3,000 respectively. Higher fines will come into effect from the beginning of 2024.

Writing for The Telegraph, Mr Jenrick says that «correctly» the fine should be «prohibitively expensive» to match the «severity of the crime» when they were «accomplices» with human smugglers.

» Promising illegal migrants that they can easily work and live in the UK is one of the many lies smugglers tell to convince migrants to cross in small boats,” he says.

«The minority of unscrupulous landlords and employers who allow illegal work and rent are thus enabling the human smuggler business model and are complicit in the harm the small boat crisis is doing to communities in the UK.»

The first asylum seekers are to be taken to the Bibby Stockholm barge on Monday. Photo: Finnbarr Webster/Getty Images. increased by 50 percent compared to last year. Since 2018, some 4,000 fines have been issued, totaling £74 million, against firms engaged in illegal work. More than 230 civil fines were levied on landlords, totaling £215,500.

Another factor behind the harsher fines is the ministry's concern that some firms factor the current level of fines into their business models.

Mr Jenrick adds: “Making it harder for illegal migrants to work in the UK is vital to preventing dangerous and unnecessary border crossings by small boats. Unscrupulous landlords and employers that allow illegal work and renting are helping to continue the business model of malicious smugglers.

«There is no excuse for not doing proper due diligence, and violators now face significantly harsher penalties.»

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Ben Beadle, executive director of the National Association of Residential Landlords, said: «Landlords should not be expected to fill the role that border and immigration officers should fill.

«Higher fines of this kind, though force landlords to be being even more cautious about whether someone is entitled to a lease could potentially only serve to make life harder for those tenants who cannot easily prove their right to rent. This may include British citizens without a passport.”

We must hit the pockets of criminals

Robert Jenrick

We pursue unscrupulous businesses that facilitate illegal migration.

Stopping the boats requires us to break the business model of human smuggling gangs. That's why we passed the Illegal Migration Act, which makes the Minister of the Interior responsible for deporting those who come here illegally from safe countries like France. This is the toughest immigration law we have ever passed and we remain confident in the legitimacy of our partnership with Rwanda as it faces legal challenges. In the meantime, we are doing our best to keep migrants away from these illegal, dangerous and completely unnecessary trips.

We are announcing the largest reshuffle since 2014 regarding the sanctions imposed on unscrupulous employers and landlords who try to circumvent our immigration rules by hiring or renting illegal migrants. This represents at least a tripling of current fines: Employers who repeatedly break the rules are liable for a £60,000 fine, compared to £20,000 for every worker they hire illegally. The penalty for landlords will increase from £1,000 per tenant for the first violation to £10,000 per tenant.

Promising illegal migrants that they will be able to work and live easily in the UK is one of the many lies that smugglers tell migrants to make the crossing in small boats. Thus, a minority of unscrupulous landlords and employers who allow illegal work and rent, allow the smuggling business model and are complicit in the harm that the small boat crisis is doing to communities in the UK. It is right that the size of the fine corresponds to the severity of the offense — that is why we increase them by such significant amounts.

Illegal work and rental are not only related to the crisis of small boats. Illegal work undermines bona fide employers, deceives legitimate job seekers, and steals the public purse because illegal migrants don't pay taxes. Landlords who don't do proper due diligence make it harder for legitimate, hard-working tenants to find housing.

As we increase fines, we also increase enforcement, so more fraudulent businesses are knocking on the door.

Much harsher penalties

This year, we created an interagency working group to promote close cooperation in the fight against illegal work. Law enforcement visits are now at their highest level since 2019 and up nearly 50% year-over-year, and we have already arrested more people in 2023 in connection with immigration control than in all of 2022.

Earlier this month, Interior Ministry immigration officials made 159 visits to construction sites, resulting in the arrest of 105 foreign nationals working illegally. With our changes, these employers will face much harsher penalties, making repeat offenses prohibitively expensive for them.

Let me be clear: the vast majority of businesses and landlords are honest and follow the rules. and pass our immigration checks. But for a small minority who flagrantly break the rules, there is absolutely no excuse.

Checks for the right to work and the right to rent are not new and are easy for businesses, landlords and rental agents to smuggle. There are several ways to do this that don't change, including manual verification of source documentation and the Department of the Interior's online verification system. Online verification takes only five minutes. And, of course, we have put in place additional safeguards to ensure that people with legal status do not unintentionally fall into reprisals or face discrimination.

Sir Keir's plan to ease restrictions on asylum seekers take paid jobs . encourage more migrants to make dangerous crossings, which would undermine the position of British workers. Meanwhile, its MPs, speaking behind Parliament's back, are calling for illegals to be able to work as soon as they arrive. This is amazing naivety on the part of a party that has no idea what we are dealing with and no plan to deal with this crisis.

The British people can be sure that this government is doing everything in its power to protect the integrity of our immigration system and punish those who abuse it. We make no apologies for hitting these immigration criminals where they hurt most: their pockets.

Robert Jenrick — Minister of State for Immigration