Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, has voiced concerns that Labour’s approach to tackling illegal working is echoing the same mistakes made by the Conservative government when it was in power. In a recent article, Solomon warned that using TV footage of deportations to highlight government actions is not the right approach and could lead to the same ineffective outcomes as previous policies.
Solomon argues that forced deportations of individuals whose asylum applications have been rejected or who have overstayed their visas has never been a successful way of addressing illegal working. He believes that such punitive measures only serve to drive people into hiding, making them harder to track down and leaving them vulnerable as they live on the margins of society.
“Being punitive just scares people into hiding. They lose contact with the authorities, living a life on the margins,” Solomon said. He highlighted that voluntary return programmes—when properly managed—are far more effective. The Refugee Council chief pointed out that it was the previous Labour government that commissioned independent agencies to run a voluntary return programme, which saw a noticeable increase in successful returns. These programmes worked because they built trust with refugee and migrant communities, treating people with dignity and respect rather than focusing on enforcement.
In contrast, Solomon noted, the current system is entirely managed by the Home Office, and officials have quietly acknowledged that their enforcement-driven approach struggles to achieve the desired results. The government, he said, cannot effectively track down individuals who are destitute, fearful of the authorities, and often living in hiding.
Rather than working collaboratively with credible partners to deliver meaningful reforms, Solomon believes the government is repeating the same misdiagnosis that the Conservative administration propagated. The narrative that many of those crossing the Channel are “economic migrants” or foreign criminals who should be removed is misleading, he argued.
Solomon pointed out that data from recent years paints a different picture. The top nationalities making the perilous journey across the Channel include refugees from war-torn countries such as Afghanistan, Sudan, Eritrea, Iran, and Syria—many of whom are fleeing conflict, persecution, and extreme danger.
As Labour continues to formulate its policies on illegal working and asylum, Solomon’s comments serve as a reminder of the need for a more nuanced and humane approach to immigration. Instead of resorting to punitive tactics that drive people into hiding, Solomon urges the government to adopt policies based on trust, dignity, and respect for human rights.
