By Kanishka Singh
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Governor Kathy Hochul and migrant advocacy groups said on Thursday that dozens of people were detained in parts of New York state after raids in Cato and Fulton by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement federal agents.
“I am outraged by this morning’s ICE raids in Cato and Fulton, where more than 40 adults were seized — including parents of at least a dozen children at risk of returning from school to an empty house,” Hochul said in a statement released by her office.
Under President Donald Trump, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency has become the driving force of his sweeping crackdown on migrants, bolstered by record funding and new latitude to conduct raids.
Trump has said he wants to deport “the worst of the worst” criminals but ICE figures have shown a rise in non-criminals being picked up.
Migrant advocacy group Rural & Migrant Ministry said on Facebook that over 70 workers were arrested after an ICE raid at a nutrition bar factory, Nutrition Bar Confectioners, in the village of Cato.
The New York Times also put the figure of those who were detained at more than 70, citing witnesses. The newspaper said the raid at the nutrition bar factory appeared to be one of the biggest workplace raids in New York since Trump’s crackdown began after he took office.
“I’ve made it clear: New York will work with the federal government to secure our borders and deport violent criminals, but we will never stand for masked ICE agents separating families and abandoning children,” Hochul added.
Mark Schmidt, 70, the principal owner of Nutrition Bar Confectioners, was quoted as saying by the New York Times that all his workers had legal documentation to work in the United States and that the operation was “overkill.”
An ICE Homeland Security Investigations spokesperson was quoted as saying by media that the step was part of “court-authorized enforcement actions.”
“While we cannot comment further about this specific ongoing criminal investigation at this time, ICE HSI remains committed to protecting the rights of workers and upholding U.S. laws,” the spokesperson’s statement cited in Spectrum News 1 read.
Details about the raid in Fulton that Hocul mentioned were not immediately available, but the governor said such actions will not make New York safer.
“What they did was shatter hard-working families who are simply trying to build a life here,” the New York governor added.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)
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