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ICE raids Texas business and detains more than 100 people

ICE raids Texas business and detains more than 100 people
Posted at 7:09 AM, Aug 29, 2018
and last updated 2018-08-29 07:09:10-04

Federal immigration agents detained more than 100 people suspected of using fraudulent identification documents to get jobs at a trailer manufacturer in North Texas, authorities said.

Agents from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations went to Load Trail in Sumner, Texas to execute criminal search warrants Tuesday.

Katrina W. Berger, special agent in charge of HSI's Dallas office, said the raid occurred after they received information that the company hired undocumented immigrants who used fraudulent identification documents.

CNN has reached out to Load Trail for comment, but has not heard back. The company describes itself as family-owned and operated, with more than 500 employees.

ICE officials will interview those arrested and determine whether they'll remain in custody or be released on humanitarian grounds.

The raid in Texas is the latest of several recent crackdowns nationwide. In June, federal immigration agents targeted a meat supplier in Massillon, Ohio, and arrested more than 100 workers suspected of using stolen or fraudulent identification.

A similar raid at a meatpacking plant in eastern Tennessee in April left dozens detained and nearly 500 students out of school.

Work site raids have escalated drastically under the Trump administration.

Last year, ICE's then-acting director Thomas Homan said he ordered the agency's investigative unit to increase enforcement actions at businesses by as much as fivefold.

Such arrests, he said, would target not just employees but also employers who knowingly hire people not authorized to work. Homan has since retired from the agency.