Early morning WA raids find 50 illegal foreign workers crammed into dorm-style rooms

Fifty foreign workers have been found and detained in Western Australia's southwest in raids on one of the state's biggest and most successful illegal worker operations.

Australian Border Force issued search warrants in Pemberton at 3am Wednesday, catching the startled workers in their beds.

The foreign workers were living in cramped six-bed dormitory-style rooms designed to house just two people.

The operation targeted shadowy labour hire intermediaries and exploitative employers, who reportedly supplied the workers to local farmers at market rates and pass on just a fraction of the wages.

Those detained are understood to be mostly Malaysians, either in Australia illegally or who had breached their visa conditions by working.

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Forty-five of the workers are in immigration detention, and the immigration status of the five is to be resolved.

The ABF was tipped off about a labour hire intermediary company operating illegally in Pemberton, a department statement said, and they moved in on a motel where workers were packed into small rooms.

"The exploitation of foreign workers can have a lasting negative impact on Australian communities and individuals," ABF Assistant Commissioner Investigations Wayne Buchhorn said.

"This can include the underpayment and exploitation of vulnerable visa holders in workplaces and the closure of small businesses due to unfair competitive advantage gained by competitors not complying with the law."

No one has been charged but evidence obtained during the raids would be used to continue investigations, he said.

The ABF's Taskforce Cadena operations is targeting industries deemed high-risk including agriculture, hospitality, entertainment, poultry, security and beauty services.

Federal Immigration minister Peter Dutton said he expected more raids.

"I don't want Australians being displaced from work by foreign workers," he said.

"If we have foreign workers here I don't want them being exploited by labour hire companies or other employers."