U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recently arrested 16 illegal immigrants as they were attempting to flee from a business in Pass Christian, Mississippi, during a workplace raid.
In a Tuesday press release, ICE announced that it had worked with the Drug Enforcement Administration Gulfport and U.S. Border Patrol’s Gulfport Station to conduct a “worksite enforcement operation” at Gulf Coast Prestress Partners, which is a business located in Pass Christian, Mississippi.
“ICE Gulfport served a Notice of Inspection and immigration subpoena to Gulf Coast Prestress,” ICE stated. “While serving the paperwork and interviewing employees, agents observed a large group of individuals running from the back of the business property. Agents apprehended 18 total fleeing individuals.”
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Following an immigration inspection of the individuals apprehended in the business raid, ICE officials identified 18 individuals as citizens of Mexico, Honduras, and Guatemala. While federal immigration officials initially apprehended 18 foreign nationals, ICE said two of the individuals were released after they were found to have work authorization and immigration court dates.
One of the foreign nationals apprehended by ICE officials was identified as a 16-year-old Mexican national. According to Tuesday’s press release, ICE Gulfport provided “overnight monitoring” of the 16-year-old and transferred the Mexican national into custody with the Office of Refugee Resettlement.
Sharing two pictures from the recent raid carried out by federal immigration officials, ICE tweeted, “YOU CAN RUN, BUT…”
In Tuesday’s press release, ICE officials explained that employers are required by federal law to verify both the identity and the employment eligibility of any employee that is hired. Employers are also required to document the information with the Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9.
ICE noted that an I-9 inspection program is used to “promote compliance with the law” as the agency attempts to “address and deter illegal employment.”
Officials added, “ICE’s worksite enforcement strategy includes leveraging the agency’s other investigative disciplines, since worksite investigations can often involve additional criminal activity, such as alien smuggling, human trafficking, money laundering, document fraud, worker exploitation and/or substandard wage and working conditions.”
Fox News reported that while worksite ICE raids were not used under former president Joe Biden’s administration, President Donald Trump’s administration has increased ICE raids to apprehend illegal immigrants, especially illegal immigrants with criminal records.
