Kato, New York – Federal agents forced the opening of the doors of the snack manufacturer and took dozens of workers in sudden enforcement procedures that the co -owner of the factory “terrifying”.
The video and pictures taken at the nutrition bar on Thursday showed many law enforcement vehicles outside the factory and the accompanying workers from the building to a border car. Migration The agents ordered everyone to the lunch room, where they asked to prove that the workers were legally in the country, according to a 24 -year -old worker who was briefly arrested.
The reason for the execution was unclear. Local enforcement officials said the operation was led by US internal security investigations, which did not respond to requests for information. Liny Schmidt, the owner of the sweets in the feeding tape, said he was also in the dark about the purpose of the raid.
“There should be a better way to do this,” Schmidt told Associated Press on Friday in the family -owned business in Kato, New York, about 30 miles (48 km) west of Sri Lips.
Schmidt said that the facility’s employees had been examined and have legal documents, adding that he would have cooperated with law enforcement if he was told that there were concerns.
He said: “The coming as they did, it is a frightening thing for everyone – Latinists, the Latinians who work here, and every other person working here, even my family. It is terrifying.”
Sherif Capita Brian Shaink said that his deputies were among those who were at the scene on Thursday morning after he asked him a month ago to help federal agencies implement an inspection order “for the ongoing criminal investigation.”
He did not explain the details of the nature of the investigation.
The lack of the interpretation of Senator Rachel May, a democratic representing the region, left with questions.
“It is not clear to me, if it was a criminal investigation for a long time, then why was the workers divided,” May said on Friday. “I feel that there are things that do not add.”
The 24 -year -old, who spoke to the Associated Press, said, provided that his identity was not disclosed because he was afraid of revenge, that after he showed the agents that he was a legal resident in the United States, they wrote his information and photographed.
“Some women started crying because their children were in school or day care. It was very sad to see him,” said the worker, who arrived from Guatemala six years ago, and then became a legal resident two years ago after working with the immigration lawyer.
He said that his partner lacked the legal situation and was among those who were taken away.
The two started working in the factory about two years ago. He was appointed to the snack bar wrapping section to the packing area. He said he could not talk to her before agents led her and he was not known on Friday as she was detained.
“What they do to us is not right. We are here to work. We are not criminals,” he said.
Schmidt said he believed that immigration enforcement agents are avoiding any company with “a type of workforce of Spanish origin, whether small or large.”
The raid came on the same day that immigration authorities 475 people were detainedMost of them are South Korea citizens, at a manufacturing site in Georgia, where the Korean auto manufacturer Hyundai manufactures electric cars.
Without its missing employees, Schmidt has estimated that production in the food manufacturer will decrease by about half, making the challenge to meet customer demand. The factory uses approximately 230 people.
He said: “We will do what we have to do to go forward to give our customers the product they need, then slowly respond, rehabilitate the place we need.”
New York Governor Cathy Hochol, Democrat, said that the detained workers, including “fathers”, at least dozens of children at the risk of returning from school to an empty house.
“She explained: New York will work with the federal government to secure our borders and deport violent criminals, but we will not defend the disintegrated ice agents who separate families and give up children,” she said in a statement.
Al -Da`wah Group in rural and migratory areas said that between 50 and 60 people, most of them are Guatemala, are still being held on Friday. Among those who were released late on Thursday, about 11 hours later, the mother of a newborn child needs to take care of her child.
The worker, who was briefly detained, said that he helps support his parents and brothers, who plant corn and beans in Guatemala.
He said he was arrested on Friday, but he planned to return to work on Monday.
“I must return because I cannot be without work,” he said.
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Olga Rodriguez in San Francisco and Caroline Thompson in Buffalo, New York, contributed to this report.