On Friday 7 November, our team travelled to Cardiff to deliver our first ever Solidarity Session in Wales. Hosted at Oasis Cardiff community centre, we were joined by more than forty people from across the city and beyond. It was a day filled with learning, debate, shared food and powerful conversations about how we protect and strengthen our communities in the face of growing hostility.

Continuing the theme of recent sessions, the focus of the day was on detention and enforcement. Since taking office, the Labour government has sharply increased immigration enforcement, with a surge in immigration raids, arrests, and detention across the UK. Between July 2024 and May 2025, there were 6,410 arrests on suspicion of working without permission – a 51% rise on the previous year. Home Office teams carried out over 11,000 immigration raids on businesses in the 12 months to September 2025, up more than 50%, and made 8,000 arrests, a 63% increase.

At the same time, the use of immigration detention is rising again after years of decline. Between June 2024 and June 2025, 21,653 people entered detention, a 14% increase on the previous year. On 30 June 2025, 1,808 people were being held in immigration detention and more than half of those were were released on immigration bail – not removed from the UK.

For many communities, this increase in raids and detention means a growing sense of fear and uncertainty, and a greater need for clear information and support. The first half of the day was therefore dedicated to sharing information and resources on detention, and to thinking together about how those of us in support roles can best help one another if someone in our community is detained.

We then moved into our classic exercise exploring the difference between legal support and legal advice. Maggy introduced a new, interactive way of running the exercise; instead of a static discussion, she asked attendees to position themselves along two lines depending on what they believed counted as advice or support.

As always, debate quickly took off. Many people started confidently in one line, only to talk themselves over to the other as the conversation deepened. This is exactly why we do this exercise, to show how blurred the line can be, but that with increased confidence, there is much more people can do via legal support than they initially may think.

Lunch was a homemade chicken stew with rice, cooked fresh in the Oasis kitchen. Oasis Cardiff has long provided a vital community space for people seeking sanctuary, offering food, support, and solidarity in Cardiff. Their hospitality added warmth and belonging to the day.

The afternoon centred around a panel discussion addressing an issue that is becoming increasingly urgent for our communities; how to safe from the increasing threat of far-right violence. With the political landscape in Wales shifting, and the possibility of Reform UK gaining governing power, the conversation felt timely and necessary.

Joining the panel was Ven and Teresa, These Walls Must Fall campaigners, Salah Rasool, Head of Sanctuary & Refugee Services at the Welsh Refugee Council, Sabiha Azad, Coalition Coordinator at the Welsh Refugee Council and Yuliia Bond, Ukrainian activist and community organiser in Wales. 

Their reflections were open and firmly grounded in their own lived experiences. Ven reminded us: “we won’t stop fighting until these walls fall”, and highlighted how the Home Office often creates problems it has no idea how to fix. He reflected on the recent Nationay Day of Action to End Immigration Detention on 18 October, and finished by saying “next year, we hope to see a bus from Wales!” 

Sabiha shared her experience of groups being targeted by far-right groups, emphasising: “they have not won yet.”

When asked what gives them hope, panelists were clear; Salah pointed to the power of the ballot box: “The next election matters. Making sure our communities vote matters”. He also reminded us that despite everything “we are still standin”. Teresa said her hope comes from “everyone here standing with us. Allies who keep showing up,” with Ven adding: “People power will bring change. Politics fears people power.”

Yuliia closed the session by sharing her recent experience in Caerphilly, where she challenged and transformed a far-right canvasser’s assumptions during the local elections. Her courage and clarity were a reminder of the everyday resistance taking place across Wales. You can read more about her story here: What happened when a Reform UK activist canvassed a Ukrainian refugee.

Our first Solidarity Session in Wales was filled with connection and learning. Despite growing challenges, what came through again and again was that people are ready to stand together, to resist fear, and to build safety through community.

We left Cardiff inspired and excited to come back.