Work on a major construction project on lower Bree Street in Cape Town was temporarily halted on Monday after authorities swooped on the site in an immigration enforcement operation. The raid, led by the Department of Employment and Labour and supported by multiple law enforcement agencies, resulted in 27 arrests.
Just before 9 am, at least 11 police vans were stationed around the site, where a 42-storey hotel is reportedly under construction. Metro Police, SAPS, law enforcement officers, and the Cape Town Central City Improvement District were all present, while officials monitored the area for anyone attempting to evade inspection.
A safety official at the site said between 170 and 200 people were working there at the time. The official said authorities were verifying the documents of foreign nationals employed on the project.
Authorities say it was not a random inspection
While some people on site described the visit as a routine inspection, a police constable said it was part of a joint operation and not a random check. The focus, according to officers on the ground, was to identify people working illegally or holding permits that did not allow them to work.
Witnesses said there were shouts warning workers to hide or run as the raid unfolded. Some tried to flee, but were caught by officials. By 11 am, a constable confirmed that about 27 people had been detained.
Police spokesperson Sergeant Wesley Twigg later confirmed that 27 undocumented men were arrested in the integrated operation. He said they were being held at Cape Town Central police station and would appear in the Cape Town Magistrates’ Court once charged under the Immigration Act.
Construction resumed, but bigger questions remain
By early afternoon, work at the site had resumed. A representative of the main contractor, Anastasi Construction, declined to comment beyond describing the operation as a routine inspection. An official from the Department of Employment and Labour also declined to speak while the raid was underway.
The incident is part of a wider national crackdown on employers and foreign nationals found to be in breach of immigration and labour laws. In the previous financial year, the Department of Employment and Labour fined 68 employers a total of R680,000 during blitz inspections conducted in partnership with Home Affairs and the police. Those operations also found 322 foreign nationals on the wrong side of the law.
Immigration enforcement pressure is rising
Minister Nomakhosazana Meth has said these blitzes are aimed at enforcing labour laws while Home Affairs checks the validity of visas and work permits. Her parliamentary reply showed the Western Cape recorded 43 foreign nationals arrested during such operations in the previous reporting period, second only to Limpopo.
The Bree Street raid now adds a dramatic city-centre image to that broader campaign. For commuters and passers-by, it was a startling disruption. For the government, it was another public show of immigration enforcement in one of Cape Town’s busiest commercial areas.