Immigration Enforcement issued civil penalties worth more than £74M to over 1,200 British businesses in the first six months of 2026, according to Home Office transparency data published on 7 August. The figures cover 1 January to 30 June.
Officers carried out 7,270 illegal working visits across that period and made 4,756 arrests, increases of 31% and 20% on the same six months of 2025. The Home Office calls it the strongest start to a year on record for this kind of activity. Arrests were still below the 5,039 logged across the second half of 2025.
