Hackney Council is poised to spend taxpayer cash teaching illegal workers how to resist Home Office deportation raids

From the Newshound archive · first published 3 October 2026 · last updated 4 October 2026.

Green-run Hackney Council may allocate taxpayer funds to a campaign helping illegal migrants avoid Home Office enforcement raids, a charity revealed at the Green Party conference in Brighton. Seema Syeda of the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants said her organisation is "working with Hackney Council to potentially do a public information campaign" against raids. The Home Office described its raids as "vital to root out unscrupulous employers and disrupt illegal workers abusing the system."

Several Green-run London councils have pledged to refuse cooperation with the Home Office during immigration enforcement operations in the capital.

Green Party leader Zack Polanski, speaking at the Brighton conference, denounced what he called "anti-migrant laws," claiming they "carve up our communities."

A pro-migrant motion brought by Green councillor Nadia Barton Ahmad in Brighton was defeated by Labour this summer, but she says the Greens intend to revive it after next May's local elections.