Conveyor Belt
04-17-2008, 07:41 AM
Full Article (http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5704822.html)
Federal agents today raided a large Shipley Do-Nuts facility on Houston's north side, where they have arrested 20 workers suspected of being illegal immigrants.
Agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement executed a search warrant about 5 a.m. at the Shipley manufacturing process center in the 5200 block of North Main.
Harris County sheriff's deputies assisted in the raid, which took place after a caravan of about 50 federal and county vehicles drove to the center.
An ICE helicopter hovered over the site while sheriff's deputies guarded the perimeter and federal agents went inside. A number of workers were brought out in handcuffs while agents sorted through company documents and interviewed other employees.
"It's a worksite enforcement operation," said Robert Rutt, agent in charge of the ICE office in Houston.
He said the number of suspected undocumented workers arrested at the complex is include some who lived at the facility. Those arrested includes one juvenile.
A Shipley official at the site declined to comment. The company released a short statement Wednesday afternoon: ``Shipley Donuts is a family owned and operated business with a 72-year history in the Houston area. It makes every effort to comply with very complicated immigration laws, and is currently cooperating with authorities in an ongoing investigation.''
The company's facility, a four-block compound where dough is processed for use in Shipley's local shops, includes a residential facility for workers.
Federal agents today raided a large Shipley Do-Nuts facility on Houston's north side, where they have arrested 20 workers suspected of being illegal immigrants.
Agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement executed a search warrant about 5 a.m. at the Shipley manufacturing process center in the 5200 block of North Main.
Harris County sheriff's deputies assisted in the raid, which took place after a caravan of about 50 federal and county vehicles drove to the center.
An ICE helicopter hovered over the site while sheriff's deputies guarded the perimeter and federal agents went inside. A number of workers were brought out in handcuffs while agents sorted through company documents and interviewed other employees.
"It's a worksite enforcement operation," said Robert Rutt, agent in charge of the ICE office in Houston.
He said the number of suspected undocumented workers arrested at the complex is include some who lived at the facility. Those arrested includes one juvenile.
A Shipley official at the site declined to comment. The company released a short statement Wednesday afternoon: ``Shipley Donuts is a family owned and operated business with a 72-year history in the Houston area. It makes every effort to comply with very complicated immigration laws, and is currently cooperating with authorities in an ongoing investigation.''
The company's facility, a four-block compound where dough is processed for use in Shipley's local shops, includes a residential facility for workers.