"It undercuts honest businesses and cheats legitimate job seekers of employment opportunities."
UK based South Asian restaurants have been targeted, as the amount of raids increase to capture illegal immigrants working in the restaurant trade.
Many South Asian food outlets are guilty of hiring illegal workers of Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan and Bangladeshi origin.
However, many restaurants up and down the country have been fined for employing illegal workers.
The employees are in error of causing visa violations after extending their stay, or coming the country unlawfully.
Three restaurants in Cheltenham had their alcohol licenses revoked, after police found illegal immigrants on their premises following raids, on the 20th of August 2016.
The restaurants altogether were fined a total of £55,000.
Another four South Asian men were caught in Farnborough working at an Indian restaurants, earlier this month.
As well as this, two more suspected illegal immigrants were arrested in Canterbury after they raided more South Asian restaurants.
Ceri Williams, an inspector of the Kent and Sussex Immigration Enforcement Team spoke about the issue of immigration in the UK.
“We are working hard to tackle illegal working and those who abuse the UK’s immigration system.”
“Using illegal labour is not victimless crime.”
“It defrauds the Treasury, depriving vital public services like schools and hospitals of funds.”
“It undercuts honest businesses and cheats legitimate job seekers of employment opportunities.”
“We expect everyone here illegally to leave the UK voluntarily.”
“For those who don’t the message is loud and clear – we will find, detain and remove you.”
£4.2 billion curry industry employs over 100,000 people, however over 600 South Asian restaurants have been closed in the last two years.
2015 figures showed that around 40 illegal immigrants a day are arrested from the UK.
This has caused a shortage in South Asian chefs because of tight immigration rules with two restaurants are closing a week due to shortage of qualified authentic chefs.
Immigration minister James Brokenshire said “the restaurant industry, like others, needs to move away from an unsustainable reliance on migrant workers.”
Loading ...