Fear of deportation drives undocumented Africans to sleep in bins on UK streets

Several undocumented Nigerians and other African migrants in the United Kingdom are resorting to sleeping in waste bins and on the streets as fear of arrest and deportation intensifies following a sweeping crackdown under the UK government’s new immigration regime.

The development comes amid the implementation of the UK’s 2025 immigration overhaul, tagged the “Plan for Change,” which has prioritised tighter border controls, faster removals and stricter enforcement against people without legal status. Since mid-2025, the policy has triggered deportations that have unsettled migrant communities, particularly those whose asylum claims were rejected or who overstayed their visas.

In one of the most visible enforcement actions, the Home Office confirmed that 43 asylum seekers and offenders were deported on a charter flight to Nigeria and Ghana. According to the Home Office, those removed had “no right to be in the UK,” including 15 failed asylum seekers and 11 foreign national offenders who had completed their prison sentences. Officials said the removals were part of broader efforts to cut net migration, strengthen border security and reshape legal immigration around skills and economic contribution.

The growing anxiety around immigration enforcement has pushed some undocumented migrants underground. A viral video obtained by Diaspora Tales showed an African man sleeping inside a waste bin on a snow-covered street in the UK. In the footage, a European man is heard urging him to leave the bin and seek refuge at a government-provided shelter, an offer the migrant appeared reluctant to accept.

Nigerians living in the UK who spoke to Diaspora Tales said such scenes, while shocking, reflect the depth of fear among undocumented migrants. Many, they said, have abandoned shared accommodations and informal housing arrangements to avoid detection by immigration authorities, choosing instead to sleep rough or hide in secluded spaces. The fear of being stopped, detained and deported has made some migrants wary of accessing shelters, healthcare services or other forms of official assistance.

However, some community members caution against viewing the issue solely through the lens of immigration enforcement. Mrs Gisela Esapa, a resident of Dunstable County, said that many of those sleeping on the streets or in waste bins are often grappling with homelessness, unemployment and, in some cases, involvement in petty crime. She noted that rough sleeping is not limited to undocumented migrants or Nigerians alone.

“People sleeping on the streets are not only migrants,” Esapa said. “You will also find British citizens and other Europeans in the same situation. Homelessness is a wider social problem in the UK.”

She added that some Nigerians arrived in the UK through irregular routes and later found themselves without jobs, stable housing or support networks. Without legal status, such individuals often struggle to access formal employment and social services, increasing their vulnerability to homelessness and exploitation.

While rights groups have criticised the UK government’s hardline stance, officials insist the policy is necessary to restore confidence in the immigration system and deter irregular migration. For undocumented migrants caught in the middle, the result has been a harsh choice between visibility and survival, as the streets increasingly become a refuge of last resort amid mounting enforcement pressure.