ILLEGAL immigrants seized during a raid at an Ipswich restaurant are being deported from the country.Immigration officers arrested 14 illegal immigrants from China and Malaysia at the Temptation Chinese Buffet restaurant in Carr Street in November.

ILLEGAL immigrants seized during a raid at an Ipswich restaurant are being deported from the country.

Immigration officers arrested 14 illegal immigrants from China and Malaysia at the Temptation Chinese Buffet restaurant in Carr Street in November.

The Border and Immigration Agency (BIA) has now said the immigrants from Malaysia had been deported, and steps are under way to remove those from China “as soon as possible”.

The news came as the agency revealed that 20 illegal immigrants were deported from the east of England every week during the last nine months of 2007.

Since the BIA was created in April last year, more than 900 enforcement operations have been carried out in the region, leading to more than 500 arrests and 800 illegal immigrants being sent back to their home countries.

Arrests are carried out by trained immigration officers who carry out police-style 'raids' on businesses and private addresses, acting on intelligence they receive from members of the public and other sources.

Specialist staff work out of Border and Immigration Agency offices in Felixstowe as well as at Bedford, Cambridge, Peterborough, Stansted Airport and Swaffham.

Gail Adams, BIA regional director, said: “We are determined to stamp out illegal immigration.

“That's why there are very strict rules about who can live and work in the UK and it's becoming much harder to break them.

“We are removing significant numbers of immigration offenders including foreign criminals, asylum cheats, those who have tried to stay in the country after their visa has run out and illegal workers, but we are not complacent.

“We intend to make 2008 even more difficult for illegal immigrants in the East of England than last year.”

Earlier this month Immigration Minister Liam Byrne announced new border protection measures were being introduced over the next 12 months.

They included:

n the introduction of a new Australian-style points based system for managing migration, ensuring only those with the skills the UK needs are allowed to work;

n on the spot fines of up to £10,000 per illegal employee for employers who don't make the correct right-to-work checks;

n to begin issuing compulsory ID cards for foreign nationals

n to introduce a single border force and police-like powers for frontline staff.