A worker at a roofing company in Bellingham, Washington, that was raided by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said Friday that masked agents in tactical gear swarmed the property with guns drawn, detaining three of his family members and dozens of co-workers.
The worker, a U.S. citizen who requested anonymity because many of his relatives are in the country without proper documentation, said his 21-year-old brother from Michoacan, Mexico, and two of their cousins were apprehended in the Wednesday raid.
He arrived at work at his usual time, around 7 a.m., he said, and “many trucks started arriving.”
“I started yelling ‘Run, immigration is here!’” he said. “Workers ran towards a wooded area nearby, but ICE officers were already there waiting for them.”
He described the last time he saw his sibling.
“My brother touched my back before he started running, and I guess that was his way of saying goodbye to me,” the man said.
More than three dozen employees of Mount Baker Roofing were arrested and taken to Northwest ICE Processing Facility in Tacoma, the agency said in a statement.
Federal agents executed a search warrant at the roofing company as part of a criminal investigation into the “unlawful employment of aliens without legal work authorization in violation of federal law,” an ICE spokesperson said.
The workers who were arrested had misrepresented their immigration status and submitted fraudulent documents or information to gain employment, the spokesperson said, adding that federal agents often investigate worksite violations and the exploitation of workers.
The owner of the company, Mark Kuske, said he employs about 85 people and he had no reason to believe any of them were in the U.S. without proper authorization.
He said he follows all federal and state hiring rules and regulations.
Although the Trump administration initially said its mass deportation effort would focus on migrants who had committed violent crimes, it later shifted its policy to include families and children without criminal backgrounds, NBC News previously reported.
The worker whose brother and cousins were detained called the unexpected operation “scary” and said law enforcement officers wore tactical gear and masks and carried long rifles. Helicopters and drones could be heard above.
“It was an ugly scene,” he said, adding that the agents had photographs and information about the arrestees, who they addressed by name.
The man said his brother had crossed the border into the United States three years ago after members of a drug cartel tried to kidnap him.
“I feel terrible. I don’t even feel like going to work,” he said. “It hurts me to go back and see all my co-workers’ belongings still there.
“I keep thinking about the way officers grabbed them. I feel so bad for my brother because he always depended on me.”
Geovana Perez, who said she is the aunt of another detainee, told NBC News affiliate KING 5 in Seattle, that “we feel very sad that a lot of families are getting destroyed.”
“We’re just really sad,” she said in Spanish through a translator. “It’s sad for every family that’s going through this.”
Dozens of people held a rally Wednesday after the raid to show their support for the men who were arrested.
“It’s wrong to take our community apart, drag out fathers, sons, brothers, family members of all kinds who are paying taxes,” Pauline Black told the station. “They’re part of our community. It’s just wrong.”
The roofing worker said that even though he is a U.S. citizen, he is considering returning to Mexico.
“It’s very scary,” he said. “We look out the window of our house when we see unfamiliar cars drive by. It’s hard to live this way.”
