Immigration officers forced their way into a confectionery plant near Syracuse on Thursday morning and detained dozens of workers, witnesses said, in what appeared to be one of the biggest workplace raids in New York since President Trump’s deportation crackdown began.
The operation spanned hours and at one point involved as many as 75 law enforcement officers from the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the Cayuga County Sheriff’s Office, according to witnesses.
Brian Schenck, the Cayuga County sheriff, said that his agency had assisted in the raid but he declined to give details, referring questions to the federal Homeland Security Investigations agency. A spokeswoman there did not immediately respond to requests for information.
Ana Mendez-Vasquez, an organizer with the Rural & Migrant Ministry, an advocacy group, who witnessed the raid, said that federal agents arrived at about 9 a.m. at the plant, Nutrition Bar Confectioners in Cato, N.Y. Ms. Mendez-Vasquez said they forced their way inside using crowbars and blocked the building’s exits before handcuffing people inside.
Ms. Mendez-Vasquez said that a Homeland Security agent told observers that the detained workers were taken to the Oswego Border Patrol Station.
Gittel Evangelist, a spokeswoman for the Rural & Migrant Ministry, said that “upwards of 70 people” were arrested.
Later on Thursday night, Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement that more than 40 adults were seized — including parents of at least a dozen children.
“Today’s raids will not make New York safer. What they did was shatter hard-working families who are simply trying to build a life here, just like millions of immigrants before them,” she said. “These actions fly in the face of New York’s values.”
Images of the raid showed several law enforcement vans, SUVs and a bus as well as two dune buggies parked outside the facility. One video showed dozens of people being escorted out of the building and into law enforcement vehicles.
Mark Schmidt, 70, the principal owner of Nutrition Bar Confectioners, said that all his workers had legal documentation to work in the United States and that the operation was “overkill.”
“I think they scooped up everybody. We’ll probably get some back,” said Mr. Schmidt, who said that he founded the business in 1980 with his father and that his three sons run daily operations. “We’ve done everything we can to vet people we hire.”
Lenny Schmidt, 49, the company’s vice president, described the scene as “almost theatrical,” and said that the operation involved police dogs and all-terrain vehicles. He said that federal agents took files from the company’s offices.
“It could have been handled so much more humanely and decently,” he said, adding, “This kind of raid, you feel like it’s a drug bust or a human trafficking situation.”
One worker who was detained and then released said that the agents escorted workers to a lunchroom, then questioned everyone and asked for proof of legal status. The worker, who declined to be named for fear of retribution, was let go once he showed proof that he was a legal permanent resident, he said.
The raid followed another operation in New Jersey last month during which federal agents detained dozens of immigrant workers at a warehouse in Edison, N.J. At the time, the Edison mayor’s office said that federal officers arrested 29 people.
Workplace immigration raids have been rare around New York City, where most arrests have happened inside immigration offices and courthouses.
Timothy Coe, 47, a maintenance worker who has worked at Nutrition Bar Confectioners for 20 years, said that he was blocked from entering the parking lot when he arrived this morning at 9:30 a.m.
“The scene was overboard. It was ridiculous,” Mr. Coe said. “Here, they’re legal. That’s what’s crazy. They all got papers. These people pay their taxes.”
Cole Louison and Liam Kennedy contributed reporting.
Ana Ley is a Times reporter covering immigration in New York City.
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