[Source]
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents raided a pair of Asia Food Market locations in western New York last Wednesday, making multiple arrests and seizing business records.
How it went down: The operations, which had court-authorized search warrants, began at around 9:30 a.m. at the store in Henrietta near Rochester and around 10 a.m. in Amherst near Buffalo. At the Rochester location, one bystander was prevented from entering as the agents moved through the building.
“I just couldn’t help but think about those older Asian people that I saw who weren’t getting arrested,” Rochester location bystander Sebastian Nimeh told the Rochester Beacon. “This might be their children, their cousin, their nephew. And their life had just been turned upside down in a matter of 20 minutes.”
In Buffalo, around 17 government vehicles reportedly surrounded the store to arrest about six individuals. Agents confiscated cellphones, computers and business documents from both facilities. The Rochester store reopened by afternoon while the Buffalo location remained closed until Thursday.
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What authorities are saying: Officials acknowledged the raids but released very little information about them, citing ongoing investigation. ICE said the July 30 operations involved Customs and Border Protection (CBP), IRS Criminal Investigation and the FBI at “multiple locations” in western New York. The FBI separately stated that it is “supporting our partners at the Department of Homeland Security with immigration operations all over the country.”
The big picture: The raids occurred amid the Trump administration’s expanded workplace immigration enforcement nationwide. Alejandro Gutierrez, one of the lawyers representing the chain, said the agents were looking for evidence of human trafficking and characterized their operations as a “fishing expedition.”
“I believe that it's probably profiling to see what they can catch,” Gutierrez told WKBW. In a separate statement to WGRZ, he described the raids as disruptive, excessive and unfair. “They’re thriving businesses, providing jobs and services to the community, and it’s sad that they proceed this way,” he said.
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