Car washes, nail bars, and barber shops were all targeted as part of the UK-wide approach
Immigration officers on raids in Wales(Image: Media Wales)
The UK Government says a record number of arrests were made in raids targeting suspected illegal workers in Wales last year. In Wales 1,320 raids were carried out in 2025 leading to 649 arrests – both up on the previous year.
As part of a crackdown they say car washes, nail bars, and barber shops were targeted alongside sweeping reforms announced by the home secretary to cut illegal migration
During illegal working raids in 2025, officers visited a range of sectors including restaurants, construction sites, and nail bars. In Wales that included:
- Three visits to packaging and distribution warehouses in Caldicot on August 5 which resulted in eight illegal working arrests of Chinese nationals. Four were detained for their removal from the UK.
- A visit to Star Barbers in Porthmadog on September 12 which resulted in three illegal working arrests. Two men, of Turkish nationality, were placed on immigration bail and the other, a Swedish man, agreed to leave the UK voluntarily.
- Seven Chinese nationals being spoken to, with four detained for removal from the UK, after a visit to a commercial construction site in Gower on October 14.
UK home secretary Shabana Mahmood said: “There is no place for illegal working in our communities.
“That is why we have surged enforcement activity to the highest level in British history so illegal migrants in the black economy have nowhere to hide. ” For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here.
In June last year we joined immigration staff as they carried out inspections and raids in Wales.
The team explained how they were carrying out raids across Wales.
In that week they found a woman working in a Chinese takeaway in Blackwood who was in the UK via a skilled worker visa and also busted a construction site in Tenby where five illegal workers were discovered including a 17-year-old Romanian who claimed he was an electrician.
They visited Choices Express takeaway in Treforest which led to the arrest of a Sri Lankan man who had no right to work and a Premier Stores at Mound Road, Pontypridd, which led to the arrest of an Indian man for breach of his immigration bail conditions.
At that time the team said in the last fiscal year to April 2025 they arrested 1,057 illegal workers marking a 114% rise compared to the year before.
Immigration enforcement lead for Wales and the west of England Richard Johnson said: “In the last financial year we arrested more illegal workers than any immigration enforcement team in the country.
“In the first eight weeks of this financial year we’ve done more than double the same period last year and more than double the arrests. So we’re looking at well over 2,000 if we keep on the same trajectory.”
