ICE Arrests Dozens of Workers at Company Near Canadian Border As Crackdown Expands Across U.S.

Federal immigration officials arrested 37 workers during a raid at Mt. Baker Roofing in Bellingham, Washington. The operation, which involved agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Border Patrol, and Customs and Border Protection, took place in the early morning at the roofing company's warehouse, located near the Canadian border.

The arrests were part of an ongoing criminal investigation into the unlawful employment of undocumented immigrants without legal work authorization. ICE spokesperson David Yost said the workers had "fraudulently represented their immigration status and submitted fraudulent documents and/or information to seek employment," according to The Associated Press.

Tomas Fuerte, an employee at the company for 12 years, described the scene to Bellingham's Cascadia Daily News:

"They (law enforcement) arrived wielding their guns like they were going to shoot us, like we were criminals. They corralled us into a room in the back of the building. They had a list and pictures of everyone who was undocumented and took them away"

The workers were transported by bus to ICE facilities in Tacoma or Tukwila for processing. Mt. Baker Roofing, in a statement issued later in the day, confirmed its cooperation with authorities, emphasizing that the company is committed to fair treatment for all employees in compliance with the law and that the roofing company is committed to "upholding ethical business practices and complying with all local, state and federal regulations."

The raid has drawn significant local attention, particularly from families of the detained workers. Geovana Perez Juárez, whose nephew was among those detained, shared the distress of witnessing the event with NPR's Seattle affiliate KUOW:

"If you only knew the sadness that it is to see hard working people get onto that bus, people that came to work [one morning] and they're not going to return with their families, it's honestly degrading"

The raid has raised concerns about the broader impact on the local roofing industry, which is already struggling with labor shortages struggles to attract U.S. citizens for roofing jobs. Industry voices consulted by KUOW called for faster legal pathways for foreign workers to address these labor gaps, a view shared by many in the industry.