KINGS MOUNTAIN, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials said a raid on a Kings Mountain factory Wednesday afternoon was part of an investigation into identity theft.
That blitz involved ICE agents taking workers at Buckeye Fire Equipment into custody.
"There's a bunch of cops here. And I was like, 'What are you talking about?' And I looked down the hall; there was a mass there. They had masks on. They had their guns drawn. They were like, Hey, we need everybody [to] go in the front," said Erick.
Eric Pinon shot video, and he and his coworkers gathered in one spot at Buckeye Fire. In the video, men in large vests and badges are seen standing behind the workers.
He was able to grab this video before any agents stepped in to stop him.
"I was trying to record, and he told me, 'No recording, put your phone up.' He grabbed my phone, and like, that's when he took the record off, and he turned off my phone. He was like, 'Everybody turn off your phones now. It's not. You'll be detained,' Pinon said.
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Pinon, a U.S. citizen, said once everyone's phones were turned off, what appeared to be immigration agents led them to a small room for at least an hour before individual interrogations outside.
"That's when they were checking all of us. They were asking questions like, "Are you a U.S. citizen? Anybody in there? You a citizen or not? You a citizen?" Or if, like, anybody that's working without papers or under a different name," he said.
Pinon chose not to answer any questions. Agents handed out blue wristbands to indicate who had legal citizenship.
Dulce Cruz-Hernandez's mom works at the factory, and she has questions of her own.
"I would ask them why and if, like the company called them, or just like how did they end up in this factory specifically?" Cruz-Hernandez said.
ICE spokesperson Lindsay Williams said agents were executing a warrant for aggravated identity theft and other crimes, which include potentially employing people illegally.
"Allegations of identity theft and you should take seriously. Would you want your identities used for someone else to work or do whatever they're going to do with them? So it's a serious federal crime," Williams said. "There have been some folks detained where somewhere in the dozen or so range, but that number may increase as we continue."
From the air, tents could be seen that looked like a staging area, and people lined up outside of the massive complex on Kings Road.
FBI, ATF, DEA, CBP, US Marshals, Gaston County Police, and Gaston County deputies were on the scene.
"It's really sad because I just don't know what's going on with my mother. I don't know if she's going to come back home today, never, ever. I really don't know. My mom's the only guardian I have really, because my dad's unfortunately not in the country either," Cruz-Hernandez said.
Williams said the investigation is ongoing.
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