News Update – 23 January 2026
In the news this week, the Home Office has significantly ramped up its enforcement activities. With a major immigration raid took place at an Evri delivery depot in Oxfordshire, resulting in the arrest of four Brazilian nationals suspected of overstaying their visas. An Evri spokesperson clarified that none of their directly employed staff were implicated, emphasising their rigorous right to work verification procedures.
Employers and businesses should be aware that such enforcement activity, while within the Home Office’s legal remit, faces ongoing scrutiny in the courts. A recent judicial review decision in R (Migrants’ Rights Network) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2026] EWHC 39 (Admin) has clarified the legal boundaries around operation “Operation Tornado,” the Government’s intensified immigration enforcement campaign launched following the Labour Government’s election in July 2024.
The Migrants’ Rights Network challenged Operation Tornado on the grounds that it had an indirectly discriminatory effect on individuals with protected characteristics including disability, race, colour, and sex. The raid activity has targeted labour-intensive sectors including car washes, nail bars, beauty salons, supermarkets, construction sites, restaurants, takeaways, delivery services, and fast-food operations. Despite these arguments, the High Court refused permission to proceed with the challenge, the policy was proportionate to the legitimate aim of immigration control.
Critically for employers, the court found that the Home Office had satisfied its public sector equality duty under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010 through assessments conducted before the enforcement intensification. The judgment emphasises that increasing resources for existing enforcement strategies, rather than implementing fundamentally new policies which did not trigger separate equality considerations.
The Government’s “one in, one out” scheme faces sharp criticism from Medical Justice, a charity that examined 33 detainees awaiting return to France and found more than half showed clinical evidence of torture or trafficking. The charity documented cases of severe psychological distress and physical harm whilst in detention, with safeguarding measures repeatedly failing to protect vulnerable individuals.
Medical Justice has called for the scheme to be scrapped entirely, arguing it shows “near total disregard for identified vulnerabilities.” Since August 2025, over 200 people who crossed the Channel have been forcibly returned to France, though the Home Office maintains the scheme allows protection claims to be properly considered with dignity in a safe country.
Recent updates to UK sponsor licence applications are introducing stricter compliance rules, clarified fee responsibilities, and enhanced key personnel requirements. From 8 January 2026, workers’ first Skilled Worker applications will require B2-level English proficiency, a significant change affecting sponsors’ recruitment strategies. These substantive updates continued to roll out across 2025 with considerable practical implications for immigration practitioners operating in an enforcement environment at record levels.
To ensure advisors are fully prepared for such challenges, HJT Training is hosting the Sponsor Licence Masterclass with expert Sacha Wooldridge. This live webinar covers sponsor licence applications and retention, Certificate of Sponsorships (both defined and undefined), sponsor duties and compliance obligations, changes of circumstances, supplementary and secondary employment arrangements, Home Office approaches to self-sponsorship, managing audits, right-to-work checks, and navigating revocation and suspension threats. For more information or to book, visit HERE
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For the full list of updates on media news, reports and Home Office Guidance and Policy updates, SEE BELOW
News
Brazilians arrested in Abingdon Evri depot immigration raid – The Herald Series
The Home Office confirmed that on Tuesday 20 January, officers were present at the warehouse on Colwell Drive. Four male Brazilian nationals were arrested as suspected overstayers in the UK and placed on strict conditions to report to the Home Office. For full report, click here
Educational background key indicator of immigration views in UK, study finds – The Guardian
Right-wing movements are struggling to gain support among graduates as education emerges as the most important dividing line in British attitudes towards politics, diversity and immigration, research has found. A study from the independent National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) found people with qualifications below A-level were more than twice as likely to support right-wing parties compared with those with qualifications above. For full report, click here
UK’s ‘one in, one out’ scheme has failed to protect torture survivors, says charity – The Guardian
The Home Office has been accused of failing to protect survivors of trafficking and torture detained as part of the Government’s “one in, one out” scheme. Medical Justice, a charity that sends independent clinicians into immigration detention centres, has surveyed 33 detainees waiting to be returned to France by the Home Office in a new report, the first to assess the welfare of this group of detainees. For full report, click here
Case Law
R (Migrants’ Rights Network) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2026] EWHC 39 (Admin)
The High Court has rejected a judicial review challenge to Operation Tornado, finding the Home Office’s intensified immigration enforcement campaign targeting sectors like car washes, nail bars, and restaurants was justified and proportionate to the legitimate aim of immigration control, notwithstanding its disparate impact on women, persons of colour, and disabled individuals. For full decision, click here
Secretary of State for the Home Department v Kolicaj [2025] UKSC 49
The Supreme Court ruled that the Home Secretary can lawfully deprive someone of British citizenship without giving them prior opportunity to make representations, provided they have a right of appeal. The Supreme Court held this was procedurally fair because the appeal process itself ensures fairness, particularly since appeals can now consider new evidence beyond what was available when the original decision was made. For full decision, click here
AA, R (On the Application Of) v Sodexo Ltd & Aor [2025] EWHC 3404 (Admin)
The High Court ruled that prisoners cannot be denied Home Detention Curfew (early release) based solely on a “stage one” deportation letter. Such letters only notify someone they may be liable to deportation, but do not constitute an actual decision to deport. Only a “stage two” letter confirming a deportation order will or has been made can make someone ineligible for early release. For full decision, click here
Kone, R (On the Application Of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2025] EWCA Civ 1653
This Court of Appeal ruling confirms that children can apply for immediate settlement under paragraph 297 if one parent is British or settled in the UK, regardless of whether the other parent has only limited leave. The Home Office cannot force such applications to be considered under Appendix FM instead. This means children may no longer need to wait years on limited leave whilst their non-settled parent completes the settlement route, potentially saving substantial time and money, particularly for older children facing university fees. For full decision, click here
Home Office Guidance and Documents Policy Updates
Guidance: UK visa requirements: list for carriers has been updated on 21st January 2026. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Register of licensed sponsors: workers has been update on 20th January 2026. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Register of licensed sponsors: students has been updated on 20th January 2026. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Document checks and charges for carriers has been updated on 16th January 2026. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Youth Mobility Scheme visa: ballot system has been updated on 16th January 2026. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Powers and operational procedure: caseworker has been updated on 16th January 2026. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Student sponsor has been updated on 16th January 2026. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Written by Shareen Khan – Legal Content Writer, HJT Training
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Disclaimer: This blog post is intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Immigration advisors should consult the full decisions and official policy documents when advising clients on specific cases.