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Crime victims are being handed to the Home Office by police for suspected immigration offences in the latest scandal to hit the system, it emerged today.

More than half of British forces admitted alerting border officials to foreigners who had been targeted by criminals.

Twenty-seven of 45 forces asked by the BBC if they referred victims and witnesses of crime to the Home Office for immigration enforcement confirmed they did.

Critics say the practice could deter victims from coming forward and seeking help.

They also warn that offenders could go free if witnesses and victims fear that speaking to the authorities could see them booted out of the country.

Pragna Patel from campaign group Southall Black Sisters claimed that referring victims of crime for immigration enforcement was “in conflict with the Government’s stated aim to protect all women from violence”.

She added: “Since 2014, we’ve seen a steady rise in cases where the police have arrested women or reported women to the Home Office as potential illegals rather than deal with their reports of violence and rape.”

The National Police Chiefs Council claimed it was “unequivocal that victims of crime should be treated as victims first and foremost”.

But it added: “Each case is considered very carefully but there will be instances where police need to exchange information with the Home Office.”

Former Chief Superintendent Dal Babu said victims of crime “were low-hanging fruit” in the Government’s hostile environment policy, which included immigration removal targets.

(Image: AFP)

He added: “These are vulnerable people... so it’s much easier when a woman comes forward who has been raped to then say, ‘We’re investigating this’, and go and arrest [her] and [she’ll] be sent to a detention centre.”

The Home Office said: “When individuals are found to have no basis in the UK, we carefully consider the details of the case before taking an enforcement action.”

Ministers’ immigration enforcement policies have been under the microscope since the Windrush fiasco unfolded.

Commonwealth citizens who came to the UK and had every light to live and work in Britain were warned they faced deportation.

There was added embarrassment as the scandal exploded as London hosted the Commonwealth heads of Government summit.