Mahmood’s ICE-style immigration raid agency accused of ‘fishing expeditions’

Exclusive: Almost two-thirds of visits lead to no arrests and nearly three-quarters are conducted without a warrant

Shabana Mahmood's ICE-style raid agency has been accused of engaging in fishing expeditions" after figures disclosed that almost two-thirds of enforcement visits result in no arrests and nearly three-quarters are conducted without a warrant.

The home secretary has hailed the expanded use of immigration enforcement teams, and claimed they will help to secure the UK's borders by removing a key incentive for irregular migration.

There were 23,538 immigration enforcement engagements such as workplace raids, home raids and spot checks in 2025 - or 60 a day. Of these, 15,578, or 66.1%, resulted in no arrests.

Only 25.81% of visits where a premises was accessed used a warrant. Critics say this suggests the Home Office is launching fishing expeditions" based on weak intelligence.

Nearly nine out of ten (89%) of leads alleging immigration crime" in 2025 came from the public or from Crimestoppers, a charity that collects anonymous tip-offs. Around 2% came from the police.