Dozens of immigrant workers were detained at a warehouse in Edison, New Jersey, on Wednesday during a federal immigration raid, with some led away in zip ties as agents from Customs and Border Protection (CBP) conducted what they described as a 'surprise inspection'.
Employees told the New York Times that officers gave yellow wristbands to those deemed to have legal status, while others were taken into custody. Videos from New Labor, a New Jersey labour and immigration reform organisation, showed CBP vehicles and unmarked SUVs at the site, with the group saying Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) agents were also involved.
Amanda Dominguez, an organiser at New Labor, said CBP agents had held the door open for their Ice counterparts to carry out immigration-related actions, which she argued was illegal without a judicial warrant signed by a judge. Relatives of the workers gathered at the facility throughout the day, waiting for information, according to the Times.
Workers described a chaotic scene, with about 20 agents entering through the front door while others blocked alternative exits. Some people were injured, and others hid in the rafters for hours. Ellen Whit, from the Deportation & Immigrant Response Equipo hotline, said one girl's father had been taken and she was 'very, very upset'.
The raid follows a similar operation weeks earlier, when 20 people were detained by Ice at the Alba Wine and Spirits warehouse in Edison, with activists saying masked agents arrived in 30 cars with dogs. New Jersey's Democratic governor, Phil Murphy, said after that raid that the state did not stand in the way of federal authorities but that he had 'no insight' into the situation.
