HOUSTON – Federal immigration agents arrested 160 employees yesterday in a raid on a used-clothing and rag-exporting plant. Authorities said it was the city's largest workplace raid ever.
Most of those arrested are from Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, and 70 percent are women, officials said.
It was the second major raid in Houston in a little more than two months. Federal agents arrested 20 workers at a Shipley Do-Nuts factory April 16.
The roundup yesterday at Action Rags USA, north of the Houston Ship Channel, began at 7 a.m. and was conducted by about 200 immigration agents, said Robert Rutt, an agent with Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Houston.
It was part of a more than yearlong investigation by the agency that was prompted by accusations that Action Rags had hired illegal immigrants, Rutt said.
In addition to the 160 arrested, the plant's employees included two U.S. citizens and 13 to 19 legal residents, Rutt said. They were released.
The company's hiring practices are being investigated for potential criminal violations, Rutt said.
William F. Estes, who identified himself as a lawyer for Action Rags, said the company was shocked by the raid.
