London borough to vote on motion to refuse assistance with immigration raids

The motion – which is set to be considered at full council on Wednesday (22 July) – also calls for the council to condemn the increase in immigration raids in the borough and "regressive settlement and asset-seizure policies put forward by the Home Secretary".

According to the motion, the Government has carried out immigration raids on a number of businesses in Lewisham in the last year, including on car washes, Chinese takeaways, restaurants and nail bars.

These raids have formed part of a “hostile environment strategy” that "targets vulnerable refugees and asylum seekers, many of whom are fleeing war and persecution", the motion claims.

It warns that this "hostile" approach will worsen under planned changes to the asylum and immigration system announced by the Government last year, which will extend the route to settlement from 5 years to a baseline of 10 years – and up to 20 years for refugees.

The Home Office also proposed forcing refugees with assets or income to contribute to their bed and board.

The motion criticises these measures as "cruel", claiming the policy to extend the settlement route would keep families in a state of perpetual limbo.

It meanwhile said that plans to seize assets were a "punitive policy borrowed from the harshest systems in Europe".

The motion says: "There is no positive legal duty for local authority inspection or licensing teams to share data with the Home Office for the purposes of immigration enforcement. Doing so is incompatible with being a Borough of Sanctuary.

"Local and joined-up anti-raids resistance is a form of building care with Lewisham communities, and is compatible with being a Borough of Sanctuary."

Under the motion, the Green-run council will resolve to work with local campaign group Lewisham Anti-Raids to support migrant businesses and those targeted by raids.

It will also launch an internal review with the aim of refusing to assist the Home Office or Immigration Enforcement teams during raids, including via police cooperation.

The review will look at all data-sharing and service agreements to ensure the council is “not facilitating a digital hostile environment and that there is a clear firewall between council services and immigration enforcement”.

If backed, the motion will also see the council join the Green-led administration at Lambeth and other councils to develop an “anti-raids sanctuary corridor”.

This will involve working closely with migrant and law centres, anti-raids networks, faith and community groups, to improve our Sanctuary programmes, Council-wide practices and anti-raids resistance, the motion says.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “While all immigration enforcement visits are intelligence led, we make no apology for joining forces with local authorities to enable information sharing and ultimately fighting criminals who fuel immigration crime.

“Since coming into power, we have increased Immigration Enforcement action to the highest level in British history. This has delivered an 83% rise in illegal working arrests and 77% rise in raids between 1 July 2024 to 31 December 2025.”

Adam Carey