Officers from the UK Border Agency acted on intelligence and raided two shops in Hanley.
They visited Angel Star Nails in Piccadilly and arrested a 23-year-old Vietnamese man who was identified as an illegal entrant. He is being detained, ready to be removed from the country.
Officers also visited Nail Creation in Town Road where they found two more illegal Vietnamese nationals. A 20-year-old woman who had no valid visa was arrested and detained. She has since been removed from the country.
A man was also arrested and has been released on immigration bail pending his removal.
The owner of Nail Creation was issued with an on-the-spot penalty notice and risks a fine of up to £10,000 for each illegal worker.
Nineteen-year-old Phuong Pham, manageress at the shop, said: “It was very upsetting. The woman they have arrested was a relative of mine. She was visiting me after coming over to my wedding at the end of September. She thought she could stay in the country for three months without a visa. She was just sitting in the shop when they came in, she wasn’t even working.
“I came to England in 2003 to do GCSEs and A-levels and then we opened the business in April this year. Since then we have had four raids by immigration officials.
“There are only four people working here, an English girl on reception, myself and two other Vietnamese girls, and we all have the correct papers.
“Vietnamese people are better at nail care because they are fast and work in a different way to English people.
“The two Vietnamese workers came over here already trained. If I took on an English girl I would have to train her.”
The owner of Angel Star Nails was unavailable for comment.
Gail Adams, UK Border Agency regional director for the Midlands, said: “These jobs provide a pull factor for illegal migrants and they can lead to major abuses of the immigrants themselves, with law-abiding businesses being undercut by rule-breaking employers.
“As long as there are illegal jobs, the UK will be an attractive place for illegal immigrants. That’s why we have to put a stop to employers who don’t play by the rules.
“The majority of employers are law abiding, but to tackle those who fail to carry out the necessary checks we’ve introduced fines of up to £10,000 per illegal worker.”
The operations in Hanley come at a time of reform to the UK’s immigration system. An Australian-style points-based system for managing immigration and ID cards for foreign nationals were recently introduced.
Anyone who suspects illegal workers are being employed at a business can call the UK Border Agency’s Stoke-on-Trent Office on 01782 463627 anonymously.
0 responses so far ↓
There are no comments yet...Kick things off by filling out the form below.