Skip to main content

Racist assumptions, stereotypes influence UK Home Office raids on 'immigrants'

By Aaron Gates-Lincoln* 

It is no secret that the UK government’s current attitude towards issues in immigration are harsh and punitive based. Recently, Priti Patel has faced much criticism as Home Secretary for implementing a large range of policy that many argue is regressive and unnecessarily ruthless as she attempts to deter migrants from wishing to enter the UK. One method that has faced heavy criticism as of late is that of frequent immigration raids within local communities.
The Home Office is estimated to undertake dozens of raids every week. In 2018, they performed on average 43 raids every week, however once the Covid-19 pandemic hit in 2020, such raids were mostly suspended for public health and safety reasons. As we are now edging towards the removal of all Covid-restrictions, the use of immigration raids has once again returned to its place as a core method of controlling immigration within the UK.
Over half of all raids take place in people’s workplaces, in the attempt to find and detain migrants that the UK Home Office suspect to be illegally living and working in the UK. The raids can also take place in people’s homes and in places of worship. Over the past 5 years there has also been a rise in immigration raids in care homes, with 190 being raided since 2016.
Such frequent raids are not cheap for the UK government. The Immigration Enforcement arm of the Home Office employs around 5,000 people and has a budget of about £392 million a year. This is a very large sum of money and can only be justifiable if it serves its purpose and serves it well.
However, this is certainly not the case. In 2019, not even 1 in 10 immigration raids resulted in someone being deported or removed from the UK -- despite that being their primary aim. In the same year, the Home Office raided 18 care homes in which none of them resulted in a deportation. These numbers are damning in regard to the worth and value of immigration raids. When comparing costs and benefits, it is hard to argue why raids have become such a primary method of immigration control.
In many communities, it has been argued by the public that they cause immense disruption, especially in workplaces and places of worship. Furthermore, migrant communities are forced to live in constant fear that their doors could be forcibly knocked down and themselves or family members removed from the country without so much of a warning.
This fear is exacerbated by the ‘intelligence-led’ methods used by the Home Office in determining where and who should be raided. The UK government has promoted a negative societal view of migrants, which has influenced many members of the public to feel like it is their duty to ‘tip off’ the Home Office if they feel someone is living in their community illegally. 
It has estimated that the Home Office receives around 50,000 ‘tip offs’ a year. Combined with the fact that doctors, landlords and employers are all legally required to check the immigration status of people they encounter, or face penalisation, much of the Home Office’s job is done for them.
This atmosphere is unhealthy for communities and can also be exacerbated by racial tensions within society. Although no official statistics of race and immigration raids exist, it could be expected that near to zero ‘tip offs’ lead to the raid of a white person’s home or workplace.
The Home Office fails to record race or ethnicity of those caught up in raids, but data does show that one in five people questioned about their immigration status are not migrants at all, and are British citizens. This raises the debate whether existing stereotypes and racist assumptions influence tip offs to be based off of race rather than actual fears of immigration violations.
Many communities fall for the anti-migrant rhetoric projected by the Home Office and forget that fundamentally the UK is multicultural
In addition to this, it has actually also been found that 1 in 5 people quizzed by the Home Office after a raid are indeed British citizens. This simply showcases the danger that racial stereotypes can play in ‘intelligence-led’ immigration methods.
It is important to understand that this environment fostered by the Home Office is not necessarily for what they could argue as ‘the good of the country’ but is actually for-profit reasons. Instead of having to hire their own intelligence officials, this role is outsourced to members of the public who believe it is their duty to perform such actions to protect their community.
With this in mind, it is clear that many communities fall for the anti-migrant rhetoric projected by the Home Office and forget that fundamentally the UK is multicultural and is built on diverse communities. Nearly all communities will have undocumented migrants living within them, and most of these migrants have been in the UK for over 5 years. 
They may have children and whole families that live here and help the communities that they reside within. A large degree of undocumented migrants also will have previously had legal status but lost it due to systemic barriers within the Home Office.
It is because of this that people must turn their criticisms towards the Home Office, and away from blaming migrants for situations that they are not in control of. Even if one is in favour of strong immigration enforcement, it is becoming hard to argue for the value and worth of immigration raids in the modern day.
First and foremost, it is essential that the UK immigration system is reformed, to allow undocumented migrants access to support to gain legal status’ such as indefinite leave to remain and even citizenship. Furthermore, it is necessary that the British public work to undo the critical view of migrants that the government has promoted for decades, in order to promote quality and diversity in our communities. Lastly, it is essential, for the safety of migrants and the wellbeing of communities that immigration raids are ceased and new methods of enforcement are explored.
---
*Writer for Immigration News and Immigration Advice Service, UK

Comments

TRENDING

Importance of Bangladesh for India amidst 'growing might' of China in South Asia

By Samara Ashrat*  The basic key factor behind the geopolitical importance of Bangladesh is its geographical location. The country shares land borders with Myanmar and India. Due to its geographical position, Bangladesh is a natural link between South Asia and Southeast Asia.  The country is also a vital geopolitical ally to India, in that it has the potential to facilitate greater integration between Northeast India and Mainland India. Not only that, due to its open access to the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh has become significant to both China and the US.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Our Representative Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

'BBC film shows only tip of iceberg': Sanjiv Bhatt's daughter speaks at top US press club

By Our Representative   The United States' premier journalists' organisation, the National Press Club (NPC), has come down heavily on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for recent "attacks on journalists in India." Speaking at the screening of an episode of the BBC documentary “India: The Modi Question,” banned in India, in the club premises, NPC President Eileen O’Reilly said, “Since Modi came to power we have watched with frustration and disappointment as his regime has suppressed the rights of its citizens to a free and independent news media."

Natural farming: Hamirpur leads the way to 'huge improvement' in nutrition, livelihood

By Bharat Dogra*  Santosh is a dedicated farmer who along with his wife Chunni Devi worked very hard in recent months to convert a small patch of unproductive land into a lush green, multi-layer vegetable garden. This has ensured year-round supply of organically grown vegetables to his family as well as fetched several thousand rupees in cash sales.

Over-stressed? As Naveen Patnaik turns frail, Odisha 'moves closer' to leadership crisis

By Sudhansu R Das  Not a single leader in Odisha is visible in the horizon who can replace Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. He has ruled Odisha for nearly two and half decades. His father, Biju Patnaik, had built Odisha; he was a daring pilot who saved the life of Indonesia’s Prime Minister Sjahrir and President Sukarno when the Dutch army blocked their exit.

Hillary Clinton, Al Gore, Ban Ki-moon, others ask Bangladesh PM to 'protect' Yunus

Counterview Desk  A campaign has been launched to support Bangladesh-based economist, micro-finance guru and Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, seeking signatures from citizens across the globe in order to “protect” his work, life and safety.

Electricity sharing opens up new window for India’s eastern neighbourhood engagement

By Sufian Asif* Today, challenges like climate change, pandemics, energy reliance, economic crisis, and many more are concerning us. No nation can overcome these obstacles without the assistance and collaboration of other nations. Most importantly, many of these problems have international repercussions. South Asia is facing much more difficulty when compared to other regions. In South Asia, we have some regional organizations, but they are ineffective.

Regional political dynamics 'leading to' institutional violence in SAARC University

By Sandeep Pandey*  South Asian University is a university set up in Delhi by member countries of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation – India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Afghanistan and Maldives – which is open to students from all these countries. However, as SAARC is receiving little attention these days because of regional political dynamics, it appears as if SAU has lost significance too. Because of the hiatus in peace process between India and Pakistan, the Board of Governors of this University is dysfunctional.

'Vulgar display of wealth': Govt of India using G20 presidency for political, electoral gains

Counterview Desk  Seeking endorsement for a public statement on India's G20 Presidency, several people’s movements, trade unions and other civil society groups have come together to say that not only will G20 and its priorities “will worsen economic, social and climate crisis”, already, India’s presidency is being used “for vulgar display of pomp & for electoral gains.”