Agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raided a Kings Mountain factory on Wednesday, arresting 30 people whom the agency has not yet publicly identified.
According to a news release, ICE agents and other law enforcement officers arrived at the Buckeye Fire Equipment Company on Kings Road on Wednesday, June 25, to carry out a federal search warrant related to "serious allegations of aggravated identity theft and potential federal crimes."
The news release did not include the names, nationalities or charges of the 30 people arrested. ICE spokesperson Lindsay Williams cited internal policies and other "privacy laws" in declining to provide the information.
"Identity fraud is not a victimless crime; it fuels a range of criminal activity and puts innocent people at risk," said Cardell Morant, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Charlotte, in the statement.
The arrests come as ICE has ramped up activity across the Charlotte area in recent months — though few workplace raids have been reported by local media. Previously, agents have arrested people outside the Mecklenburg County Courthouse and near an east Charlotte school's carpool line. Agents have also been spotted in the parking lot of a Charlotte church during preschool hours, and at an east Charlotte apartment complex.
Agents arrived unannounced, employees told 'no recording'
News of the workplace raid began to spread on social media around 1 p.m. Wednesday, shortly after agents arrived at the factory unannounced.
One employee began livestreaming and posting video on Facebook, showing dozens of employees and some law enforcement officers standing on the factory floor. One officer is seen wearing a vest marked "police." Two others are seen wearing masks and carrying assault-style rifles.
Buckeye employee Eric Pinon told Queen City News that he recorded the raid's initial moments until an agent grabbed his phone and turned it off. "He was like, 'Everybody turn off your phones now. If it's not, you'll be detained," he told the television station.
Pinon told the news station that workers were kept in a small room for about an hour before being questioned one by one. Those with verified legal status were given blue wristbands.
ICE later released a video compilation that showed agents, their faces blurred, presenting a search warrant to a receptionist, confiscating employee phones and other personal items in plastic bags, smashing a door window with a pickaxe, and handcuffing employees and walking them out of the building.
Family members, protesters gathered outside
As news of the raid spread Wednesday, a small crowd of employees' family members and other residents gathered outside of the factory, some holding signs protesting ICE action.
A 16-year-old girl told a Shelby Star reporter that her mother, who worked inside the factory, called her around 1 p.m. after ICE agents arrived. She and her brother drove to the factory, and said they could no longer get in contact with their mother.
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"I don't know if she's in custody, or if she's coming home tonight or ever," she said.
Williams said the detained workers were transferred to the Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia, or the Folkston ICE Processing Center in Folkston, Georgia.
Any workers who faced criminal charges in addition to immigration violations would have been transferred to the Gaston County Detention Center, Williams said. Reached by phone Friday morning, Gaston County Chief Deputy Cam Jenks said he did not believe any Buckeye workers had been brought to the county jail, though his staff was investigating.
Buckeye Fire Equipment Company is a privately owned manufacturer of fire extinguishers, extinguishing agents, fire-suppressing foam and related products, according to its website. The company did not immediately return requests for comment.
According to the agency's news release, a long list of agencies assisted ICE in Wednesday's enforcement action, including the FBI; U.S. Marshals Service; U.S. Customs and Border Protection and its Air and Marine Operations; IRS Criminal Investigations; the Social Security Administration's Office of Inspector General; the North Carolina National Guard; the DEA; the ATF; the Kings Mountain Police Department; the Gaston County Sheriff's office; and the Gaston County Police Department.
The Kings Mountain Police Department said on social media Wednesday that it had limited involvement in the operation.
"KMPD's role is limited to addressing any potential state charges that may arise as part of the investigation," the department said.
