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Councillors in east London have unanimously agreed to limit cooperation with Home Office immigration raids unless there is a clear legal obligation. They will refrain from sharing data and using council resources for such operations. This decision follows an increase in illegal working raids in London, where businesses were visited 2,715 times last year, up by over 700 visits compared to the previous year. The motion was first passed by Green-led Lewisham and has since been adopted by five other boroughs with Green leaders, who are part of a network pushing back against hostile environment policies for migrants.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-12,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
On Monday, Newham Council in London unanimously voted to pass a motion prohibiting the use of council resources for immigration raids unless there is a clear legal obligation. Councillors from Labour, Green, and Newham Independent groups agreed that council workers should not serve as immigration enforcement officers. The motion aims to protect residents' access to public services without fear of immigration enforcement actions. While Newham Council stated they have long avoided supporting such raids, the new policy explicitly limits data sharing with the Home Office for immigration enforcement purposes and collaborates with local activist groups to create a “sanctuary corridor” for migrants. This move follows similar policies in other London boroughs like Lewisham, which passed its non-cooperation motion earlier this year. In 2025, London saw an increase of more than 700 visits from the Home Office compared to the previous year, making it the region with the most illegal working raids.
Written for “London Councils Block Immigration Raids” on 2026-10-12,
grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted
verbatim and was checked against the article text before being
stored, so you can find it in the original.
-
Councillors in the east London borough unanimously agreed a motion stating that the town hall should only co-operate with immigration raids “where there is a clear legal obligation to do so” and should not actively assist operations through the use of council staff, buildings or equipment.
left Supports local councils limiting cooperation with Home Office immigration enforcement.
-
It means that they will limit, or in some cases block, data sharing with the Home Office for immigration enforcement purposes and work with local activist groups to create a “sanctuary corridor” for migrants.
left Encourages limiting data sharing and supporting sanctuary measures.
-
Green-led Lewisham was the first to sign off the non co-operation policy. In July, it passed its motion that included a review of the local authority data-sharing and service agreements and pledged not to use resources or public money for immigration enforcement.
left Supports Green-led councils' policies against using resources for immigration enforcement.
Leaning: leans left for article 74737 (high confidence, 3 verified quotes) · logged 2026-10-12
Councillors in the east London borough unanimously agreed a motion stating that the town hall should only co-operate with immigration raids “where there is a clear legal obligation to do so” and should not actively assist operations through the use of council staff, buildings or equipment.
asserted
hall → agree → staff
It means that they will limit, or in some cases block, data sharing with the Home Office for immigration enforcement purposes and work with local activist groups to create a “sanctuary corridor” for migrants.
asserted
they → mean → migrants
It comes after the capital saw more illegal working raids than any other region in the Britain last year.
asserted
capital → come → Britain
Businesses in the capital were visited 2,715 times in 2025, up by more than 700 visits on the year before.
asserted
Businesses → visit → year
A Home Office spokesman said that, while the visits are intelligence led, they make "no apology" for joining local authorities to enable information sharing and "fighting criminals who fuel immigration crime".
asserted
who → say → crime
Green-led Lewisham was the first to sign off the non co-operation policy.
asserted
Lewisham → lead → policy
In July, it passed its motion that included a review of the local authority data-sharing and service agreements and pledged not to use resources or public money for immigration enforcement.
asserted
that → pass → enforcement
The five other boroughs, who also have Green leaders, followed shortly after with help from the Migrant Champions Network, which was set up by councillors from Islington and Oxford in 2022 to push back against hostile environment policies.
asserted
which → have → policies
It drafted the motion that London councils have used to pass the move.
asserted
councils → draft → move
Southwark leader James McAsh, who defected to the Greens in February, said he had been working for a number of years to minimise co-operation with the Home Office.
asserted
he → defect → Office
He told the Standard he “fought really hard to get the Home Office out of the council” when a Labour backbencher in Southwark.
asserted
Office → tell → Southwark
He said: “At the time, there was a system called embedded immigration officers, where the council paid the salary of a Home Office member of staff who worked in here, and the line was: ‘this is great for the migrants because it they have access to Home Office database and it speeds things up, and it's great for the council because we can get their costs off our books’.
“
asserted
we → say → books
We found one example where someone came in for support regarding their disability, their immigration status was flagged, and this immigration officer printed off a notice for removal, there and there.
asserted
officer → find → removal
Read More
“Thankfully, that person challenged it with legal support and it turned out to be illegal and it was removed.
asserted
it → read → support
“I don't believe migration is a crime.
asserted
migration → believe → ?
I don't believe migrants should be treated like criminals, and that's something that I've been pushing for for some time.”
asserted
I → believe → time
It stated: “Immigration enforcement is a national responsibility that enforces national border security, tackling human trafficking and protecting vulnerable people from exploitation.
asserted
that → state → exploitation
“Local authorities should not obstruct actions by immigration enforcement operations or build political barriers that undermine the safety of the public or the rule of law.”
Reform UK London Assembly member Keith Prince, who proposed the motion, said: "Immigration enforcement is a national responsibility and effective cooperation between local authorities and the Home Office is required to ensure the law is applied consistently and vulnerable people are protected, rather than adopting ridiculous activist-driven policies.
“Where a local authority changes its approach to working with the Home Office, it is reasonable to understand what operational impact that may have and to ensure responsibilities remain clear.”
uncertain
responsibilities → obstruct → impact
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