Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials arrested more than 280 illegal immigrants in a raid at a telecommunications equipment repair company in Allen, Texas, on April 3.
As part of an ongoing criminal investigation, agents executed search warrants at CVE Technology Group Inc. and four of CVE’s staffing companies, where the illegal aliens were working.
It all began when Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) received a number of tips that the company had “knowingly hired illegal aliens.” Many of the arrested employees were also using fraudulent identification documents. HSI began an audit of CVE’s I-9 forms in January where they found numerous hiring irregularities.
![Central American migrants sit above the US–Mexico border fence as a Border Patrol agent stands guard in Baja California state, Mexico, on March 21, 2019. (GUILLERMO ARIAS/AFP/Getty Images)](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimg.theepochtimes.com%2Fassets%2Fuploads%2F2019%2F03%2F27%2FGettyImages-1131910870.jpg&w=1200&q=75)
The number marks the most apprehensions in a single day in the past 10 years, according to Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection Kevin McAleenan. In a March 27 press conference in El Paso, Texas, he noted that the immigration system had reached a “breaking point” that week.
The 280 arrested illegal immigrants will be interviewed by ICE staff in order to record any medical, sole-caregiver, or other humanitarian situations. ICE will then make a determination to either keep those arrested in custody or consider them for a humanitarian release. As per standard procedure, all who were detained will also be fingerprinted and processed for removal from the United States.
According to ICE, illegal immigrants often use stolen identities of legal U.S. workers, which can have a major impact on the identity-theft victim’s credit, medical records, and more.
![President Donald Trump (C) speaks as Senate Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) (L), and Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) (R) look on in the U.S. Capitol on March 26, 2019. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimg.theepochtimes.com%2Fassets%2Fuploads%2F2019%2F03%2F29%2FPresident-Donald-Trump-speaks.jpg&w=1200&q=75)
The surge in border apprehensions also caught the attention of President Donald Trump.
In March, the Department of Defense notified Congress that it has authorized the transfer of $1 billion toward the construction of the wall on the U.S.–Mexico border.
“The whole issue of the wall and border security is of paramount importance. We have a crisis down there; I think the president has made that case very effectively,” Kudlow said. “He’s going to stay with his wall, and he’s going to stay with the border security theme. I think it’s essential.”
The White House so far has secured $8.1 billion toward border wall construction. Of the total, $1.4 billion was approved by Congress, $3.1 billion was reallocated from other departments, and $3.6 billion was made available under the emergency declaration.