Federal immigration officers carried out a surprise workplace raid Tuesday morning, May 20, 2025 at Eagle Beverage and Accessories Products in Kent (map below), detaining 17 individuals and leaving family members and coworkers reeling.
According to a report by César Carizales of Univision Seattle, the operation took place around 10 a.m., and is believed to be the second mass workplace immigration raid in Washington state under the Trump administration.
Video footage (see below) showed nine men and seven women being taken into custody, their hands and feet shackled as they were loaded onto a bus.
A woman who spoke to Carizales said her partner was among those arrested.
“It hurts a lot. A lot of people are leaving behind small children. I saw one worker who’s a single mother with two babies — one of them just born a month or two ago. What they’re doing isn’t fair,” she said. “We don’t know what to do or where to go or who to call.”
The Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network (WAISN) confirmed the action was an immigration raid, though U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has not publicly disclosed how many people were detained or where they were taken.
Families remained at the scene more than an hour after the raid, waiting anxiously for news of their loved ones. Some had spoken to immigration attorneys, but were told that few were currently accepting deportation cases.
Resources for affected individuals were shared during the Univision broadcast, including hotlines from immigrant support groups, consulates, and legal aid providers. WAISN continues to provide assistance through its deportation defense hotline.
People are encouraged to know their rights in the event of an ICE encounter at work, including the right to remain silent, the right to ask if they are free to leave, the right to speak with an attorney, and the right to document the event without interfering with law enforcement operations.
Videos
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