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this government Accused of turning law enforcement raids on illegal immigration into ‘clickbait online entertainment’ after launching new policy Tik Tok Account shows videos bragging about deportations and arrests.
sponsor home office Tuesday, “Safety frame UK” account currently only has one video. Dramatic music plays in the background, and the following clips are edited together: immigration enforcement officer raids on homes and businesses and arrests people thought to be in the UK illegally while key migrant Statistics are played on the screen.
A clip of a plane taking off was played in the video, which read: “Nearly 50,000 people have returned or been deported from the UK since July 2024. Illegal work arrests have increased by 83%. Illegal work raids have increased by 77%. And it’s only just begun.”
The account was heavily criticized by opposition parties and refugee charities, who said it “stokes fear, legitimizes racism and makes life more dangerous for immigrant communities”.
Freedom from Torture accused the government of being “obsessed with the cheap political points it could score” and turning law enforcement raids into “clickbait online entertainment”.
“This is just more populist, dehumanizing social media content designed to distract us and divide us,” said Syl Reynolds, the charity’s head of asylum advocacy.
“This type of political communication stoked the anxiety and fear that fueled summer riots and the recent violence against asylum hotels.
“Caring people across the country are increasingly alarmed by this administration’s cruelty toward immigrants, including plans to make refugees wait 20 years before they can settle here.”
Meanwhile, Josephine Whitaker-Yilmaz, head of communications at Praxis, a charity that supports immigrants and refugees, accused the government of “treating the public like fools”.
She added: “Labour is desperate to beat reformists at the polls, repeating their talking points on immigration rather than showing real leadership at a time when racial tensions have reached dangerous heights.”
Ms Whittaker-Yilmaz continued: “Showing dehumanizing footage that characterizes immigrants as criminals does nothing to improve the lives of ordinary people. It feeds fear, legitimizes racism and makes life more dangerous for immigrant communities.”
Refugee charity Care4Calais also said the “gimmick” would have no impact on the increasing number of migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats.
“Population displacement worldwide is caused by war, torture and persecution. It is not influenced by social media reporting,” said Steve Smith, CEO of Care4Calais.
“The only way the Government can stop crossing the Channel is to create safe routes for people to claim asylum in the UK. So-called deterrents and gimmicks like the TikTok account don’t work.”
Meanwhile, shadow home secretary Chris Philp called the video “yet another pathetic stunt that doesn’t work”.
“Thoughts to post some on Tik Tok Stopping illegal immigration is laughable – just like the government’s previous gimmick to crack down on gangs.
“The Labor government put illegal immigrants in hotels, allowed illegal work to flourish and allowed 95 per cent of them to stay.”
But Downing Street said the TikTok page would “frontally combat false narratives and misinformation online by fake news operators using social media to mislead the British public” on immigration.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said the channel “will help bring the issue of illegal immigration to a wider audience and speak directly to people smugglers to show them the truth about the detention and deportation they face”.
A few months later, new accounts appeared Trump administration faces criticism Voice-over using British Airways advert appears to mock group of migrants being deported Posts on X (formerly Twitter).
U.K. home office The video was released on the same day New figures show huge increase in UK enforcement actions against illegal working Inspections of businesses and arrests reached their highest levels on record in 2019.
The data shows that there were 12,791 visits to venues such as nail salons, car washes, barber shops and takeaway shops in 2025, a 57% increase from 8,122 visits the previous year.
Arrests related to illegal work also hit a record high, with 8,971 arrests last year, an increase of nearly 59% compared to 5,647 arrests in 2024. Of those arrested, 1,087 have been taken out of the UK so far.
It is part of a wider effort to crack down on illegal immigration and tackle the threat posed by Britain’s reformists, which has seen support for Nigel Farage’s party soar.
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The Home Office also said that since Labor came to power, the number of visits has increased by 77% and the number of arrests has increased by 83%.
Some 17,483 visits and 12,322 arrests were recorded between July 2024 and December last year, while between January 2023 and June 2024 there were 9,894 and 6,725 arrests respectively.
Of those arrested so far, 1,726 have been repatriated, a 35% increase from the 1,283 deported during the past 18 months.
On November 25, immigration enforcement officers arrested 13 people at a warehouse in Shoreham-on-Sea, West Sussex, with 11 Brazilian and Romanian nationals being detained for deportation from the UK.
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The British Home Office said that on December 16, police arrested 30 Indian and Albanian men at a construction site in Swindon, Wiltshire. Almost all of them were detained to prepare to leave the UK, and five of them had been released on immigration bail.
Immigration enforcement has been given £5m of funding to arrest, detain and deport immigrants working illegally in venues such as takeaways, beauty salons and car washes.
Police have also been wearing body cameras since September to help with arrests and prosecutions.
Elsewhere, the government’s new border security, asylum and immigration bill also introduces tougher right-to-work checks, forcing temporary, temporary or subcontracted workers to prove their status.
Employers who fail to carry out inspections could face up to five years in prison, a fine of £60,000 for each illegal worker employed and the closure of the business.
