Overview
- Lewisham Council passed the motion on Wednesday, July 22, committing the Green-run administration to review its work with immigration enforcement and to refuse assistance with raids wherever the law allows.
- The motion requires a comprehensive review of council systems and service agreements to stop sharing or using council-held data and resources for immigration enforcement operations.
- It pledges to build a cross-borough 'Sanctuary corridor' with Lambeth and other Green-led councils and to partner with Lewisham Anti-Raids, law centres and migrant organisations to support affected people and businesses.
- The Home Office defended its intensified, intelligence-led enforcement and information sharing, citing an 83% rise in illegal-working arrests and a 77% rise in raids between July 2024 and December 2025.
- Implementation is subject to legal limits and future operational decisions, and the council's move could set a test case that prompts legal challenges and wider intergovernmental dispute over data-sharing and safeguarding duties.