SANFORD, N.C. _ Federal agents detained at least 30 people during a raid at a manufacturing plant in Sanford, the Lee County Sheriff's Office said Tuesday.
The raid was part of an ongoing investigation into identity theft and fraud, Sheriff Tracy Carter said.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement "executed a search warrant" at Bear Creek Arsenal on Tuesday morning, ICE spokeswoman Carissa Cutrell wrote in an email to The News & Observer.
"This is an ongoing investigation, and further details are not available at this time," she wrote, adding that Homeland Security Investigations led the operation.
ICE agents entered the weapons factory about 8 a.m., reported Que Pasa, a Spanish-language media organization in Raleigh.
People were ordered inside a break room and were not allowed to leave unless they had identification, Que Pasa reported.
"It's unclear at this time if the local business was at fault," Carter said, adding that the raid was isolated to one location.
Viridiana Martinez, a spokeswoman with Alerta Migratoria, told The News & Observer that the local Latino advocacy group has heard from people inside the factory who said the ICE agents were looking for specific people.
At one point, Martinez said, 70 people were detained.
Martinez said Sanford has long been a destination for immigrants because they can often find jobs with local businesses.
It's unfortunate when undocumented workers became targets of law enforcement and local businesses, she said.
"Then they throw them under the bus," Martinez said. "It's wrong."
