Edinburgh councillors are being asked to consider a motion that would see the capital take a “sanctuary city” style stance on immigration raids.
What the motion proposes
A motion from the Scottish Greens on City of Edinburgh Council asks officers to clarify whether the local authority is legally required to assist Immigration Compliance and Enforcement (ICE) in its duties.
Councillors have also been asked to “officially condemn migration raids and the UK Government’s Hostile Environment policies”.
The proposal would also direct officials to prepare a report for the council’s December meeting setting out what “actions are currently undertaken by the council to support or facilitate Home Office migration raids” and “what would be involved in establishing a formal anti-raids policy for the council”.
‘We are making inquiries’
Green councillor Dan Heap, who wrote the motion, said he wants to stop any council involvement with immigration raids in the city.
He told The Herald: “We are making inquiries as to how far the council’s officials and processes are involved in these migration raids.
“We believe that they shouldn’t be given the very negative impact they have, both on the people and the families that are the subject of the raids, but also the broader communities.
“We know that when people come to Edinburgh from elsewhere for all kinds of different reasons, Edinburgh is so welcoming and they become part of our communities.”
What a formal policy could look like
The Greens say a “formal anti-raids policy” could require the council to “agree not to take any action to support or facilitate, in any way, such raids within the City of Edinburgh Council area except actions that are legally required”.
It would also instruct officers to review “all data-sharing and service agreements” to ensure the local authority is not participating in a “digital hostile environment”.
Context from Scotland and Edinburgh
The idea mirrors the stance taken by a number of American cities, including Philadelphia, New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Boston and Seattle.
According to the US Library of Congress: “Sanctuary policies typically limit state or local law enforcement assistance with federal immigration authorities in enforcing civil violations of federal immigration law.
“Jurisdictions that restrict state or local participation in civil immigration enforcement activities may still permit state or local law enforcement to assist in enforcing criminal violations of federal immigration law.”
Heap said: “It’s so damaging for the individuals and the communities for these very aggressive raids to be conducted,
“[They are] removing those people from the communities that love them and where they’ve made their home.
“At this stage, we are making inquiries to see how far the council is involved in these raids, with a view of stopping that where that’s legally possible,” he went on to say.
The motion comes against the backdrop of repeated enforcement activity in Scotland. Earlier this month, the Home Office said 400 people had been arrested for working illegally in Scotland in 2025, up 49% from 2024, when 269 people were arrested. More than 1,200 people have been arrested in illegal working raids in Scotland since 2019.
According to a 2023 Freedom of Information request, 270 Immigration Enforcement visits were carried out in Edinburgh between January 2020 and July 2023, including 54 at residential addresses.
While the Kenmure Street protest is the best-known recent example of anti-raid action in Scotland, Edinburgh has had its own showdowns with Home Office enforcement.
In May 2022, several hundred people surrounded two immigration removal vans outside a restaurant in Potterrow for several hours, until officers left the scene empty-handed.
At the time, a Home Office spokesperson said: “It is unacceptable for people to attempt to block legitimate actions of law enforcement as they work to remove those with no right to live or work in the UK.”
Earlier this year, the Scottish Greens set out plans to “oppose the UK Government’s anti-migrant policies”, calling for the devolution of immigration powers to Holyrood.
Party leader Gillian Mackay MSP said: “Far too many New Scots are being failed and targeted by a racist and authoritarian immigration system that is designed to punish and scapegoat them, actively making their lives harder
“We will oppose the hostile environment at every turn and use every power available to us to build a system based on dignity, humanity and respect.”