ICE detains 30 people during raid of N.C. firearms manufacturing plant
ICE detains 30 people during raid of NC manufacturing plant
BY THOMASI MCDONALD
FEBRUARY 05, 2019 01:43 PM,
UPDATED 3 HOURS 23 MINUTES AGO
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SANFORD Federal agents detained at least 30 people during a raid at a firearms manufacturing plant in Sanford, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday.
The raid was part of an ongoing investigation into identity theft and fraud, Sheriff Tracy Carter said.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement “executed a search warrant” at Bear Creek Arsenal on Tuesday morning, ICE spokeswoman Carissa Cutrell wrote in an email to The News & Observer.
This is an ongoing investigation, and further details are not available at this time,” she wrote, adding that Homeland Security Investigations led the operation.
ICE agents entered the weapons factory on McNeill Road about 8 a.m., reported Qué Pasa, a Spanish-language media organization in Raleigh.
People were ordered inside a break room and were not allowed to leave unless they had identification, Qué Pasa reported.
“It’s unclear at this time if the local business was at fault,” Carter said.
Carter wrote in a message on social media, “What I want Lee County residents to know is that this was not a random operation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Lee County, this was the result of an ongoing investigation by Immigration and Customs and isolated to one location.”
Viridiana Martinez, a spokeswoman with Alerta Migratoria, told The News & Observer that the local Latino advocacy group has heard from people inside the factory who said the ICE agents were looking for specific people.
At one point, Martinez said, 70 people were detained.
Martinez said Sanford has long been a destination for immigrants because they can often find jobs with local businesses.
It’s unfortunate when undocumented workers became targets of law enforcement and businesses, she said.
“Then they throw them under the bus,” Martinez said. “It’s wrong.”
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