Dozens of illegal aliens were detained in sweeps by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Cato and Fulton, New York, on Thursday.
Nearly 60 individuals were taken into custody at around 9 a.m. at the Nutrition Bar Confectioners factory in Cato, and according to the Post-Standard agents even used a crowbar to break through locked doors to enter the facility.
ICE officials told the media that the raid on the factory was a “court-authorized enforcement action,” according to WTVH-TV.
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“While we cannot comment further about this specific ongoing criminal investigation at this time, ICE HSI remains committed to protecting the rights of workers and upholding U.S. laws,” an ICE spokesman added, according to Spectrum News 1.
Cayuga County, New York, Sheriff Brian Schenck said his officers helped with traffic and security for the ICE officers but did not take part in the entrance to the factory. He added that it was an operation of the Department of Homeland Security.
The owner of the factory, Mark Schmidt, reportedly told the New York Times that the raid was “overkill,” and claimed, “We’ve done everything we can to vet people we hire.” He did not explain how many of his workers were still illegal aliens.
At the same time that ICE officers appeared at the Cato factory, a business in Fulton, New York, was also raided for illegal alien workers.
New York Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul blasted the raids and claimed that parents of school age children were impacted by the arrests.
“I am outraged by this morning’s ICE raids in Cato and Fulton, where more than 40 adults were seized — including parents of at least a dozen children at risk of returning from school to an empty house,” she claimed in a public statement.
“I’ve made it clear: New York will work with the federal government to secure our borders and deport violent criminals, but we will never stand for masked ICE agents separating families and abandoning children,” she added.
“Today’s raids will not make New York safer. What they did was shatter hard-working families who are simply trying to build a life here, just like millions of immigrants before them,” she said, concluding with, “These actions fly in the face of New York’s values. As Governor, I will always stand against this cruelty.”
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