The U.S Immigration officers on Wednesday, April 2, 2025, arrested 37 workers at a roofing company in northern Washington.
Officials from ICE and Customs stormed Mt. Baker Roofing’s warehouse in Bellingham around 7:30 a.m.
Bellingham is a city near the Canadian border in northern Washington State.
Eyewitness Tomas Fuerte said the officers arrived with guns and frightened the workers.
He said the agents treated workers like criminals and forced them into a backroom.
According to him, they used a list to identify undocumented workers before making arrests.
The agents later loaded the arrested workers into two waiting buses.
Fuerte said he had never seen such a raid in his 12 years at the company.
ICE spokesperson David Yost confirmed the officers had a federal search warrant.
He said the ongoing investigation targets illegal employment of undocumented immigrants.
Mt. Baker Roofing confirmed it is cooperating fully with the federal authorities.
The company also promised to ensure fair and respectful treatment for its workers.
Reports from ICE show they made 32,809 arrests in Trump’s first 50 days in office.
This figure gives a daily average of 656 arrests, up from the previous 311.
The numbers exceed arrests during Joe Biden’s administration.
However, they remain below the mass deportation levels from Trump’s first term.
So far, Trump has avoided large factory raids used during his first presidency.
Nonetheless, smaller targeted operations have resumed under his new administration.
Criminal charges against employers remain rare in such cases.
However, federal authorities often fine companies that break immigration laws.
The recent raid has sparked fresh concerns among immigrant workers in the U.S.
Observers say the administration may intensify crackdowns in coming months.
Many immigrant advocacy groups have already condemned the arrests.
