ICE arrests more than 280 at Texas business, biggest workplace immigration raid in a decade

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has arrested more than 280 people “on administrative immigration violations” at a company in North Texas – the largest workplace immigration raid in a decade, reports Phil Helsel at NBC News. “Relatives of workers came to the facility after word of the operation spread, some emotional and wondering about their loved ones … Anel Perez, the daughter of a worker who was been detained, told the station, ‘It’s not fair. It’s really sad and it makes a lot of people really angry and frustrated.’”  

The ICE press release begins as follows:

“As part of an ongoing criminal investigation, special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) executed criminal search warrants at CVE Technology Group Inc. (CVE), and four of CVE’s staffing companies. HSI arrested on administrative immigration violations more than 280 CVE company employees who were unlawfully working in the United States at this telecommunications equipment-repair business. 

This ongoing investigation began after HSI received multiple tips that the company may have knowingly hired illegal aliens, and that many of the individuals employed at CVE were using fraudulent identification documents.  In January 2019, HSI began an audit of CVE’s I-9 Forms, which confirmed numerous hiring irregularities.”

KJ