The operation follows a leaked document from October last year showing 53,298 migrants whose whereabouts are unknown after breaching bail or fleeing detention.
Border Force officials deliver migrants to Dover (Image: Getty)
A team of 65 Immigration Enforcement officers has been tasked with tracking down more than 53,000 illegal migrants and foreign criminals who have vanished across Britain. Home Office chiefs confirmed a dedicated unit is pursuing absconders who have breached immigration bail, overstayed visas or escaped detention, as well as foreign offenders who should have been deported. The squad is supported by other investigators within Migration and Border controls.
The operation follows a leaked document from October last year showing 53,298 migrants whose whereabouts are unknown after breaching bail or fleeing detention. A further 736 foreign offenders have absconded after release from prison or immigration detention. The statistics were passed to Independent MP Rupert Lowe by a whistleblower.
The Home Office declined to confirm the exact figures but acknowledged they are broadly consistent with data from 2016, when nearly 60,000 individuals were missing from the system.
Lowe condemned the scale of the response. “Our whistleblower investigations have revealed that there are 53,298 absconded illegal migrants, and 736 missing foreign criminals. This is a national security emergency. 65 staff is pathetic and woefully short – we need thousands on it. Every single illegal migrant needs to be rounded up and removed from our country. That is absolutely non-negotiable for the British people.”
The Sun revealed the existence and size of the specialist tracing team following a parliamentary question tabled by Lowe.
Home Office Minister Alex Norris told MPs: “The Home Office has a range of tools to trace those who abscond. The number of staff involved in tracing activity varies across Immigration Enforcement depending on operational need, with c.65 staff currently dedicated to tracing activities, as well as resources elsewhere within the Migration and Borders System.
Home Office minister Alex Norris (Image: Craig Connor/ChronicleLive)
“There are no formal targets linked to a reduction in the number of absconders. The Home Office works closely with the police, other government agencies, commercial companies and international partners to trace absconders and bring them back into contact.
“Where new details are found, we will consider the most appropriate intervention, including arrest and detention.”
Norris was unable to provide the annual cost of the operation, saying it would require collating data across multiple databases.
A Home Office spokesperson added: “In addition to our dedicated tracing capability team, there are thousands of staff across the immigration system who take action against those who are illegally in the UK.
“Under this government, returns of people with no right to remain in the UK have surged, with almost 50,000 people removed – up 23 %.
The Home Secretary has announced the most sweeping reforms to tackle illegal migration in modern times.
“These will make Britain a less attractive destination for illegal migrants and will make it easier to remove and deport them.”
The figures highlight ongoing challenges in managing immigration enforcement after thousands of arrivals have disappeared from Home Office accommodation.
