KINGS MOUNTAIN, N.C. (WBTV) – At least 30 people were detained this week in connection with a federal investigation at a Kings Mountain business, according to officials.

Federal officers with Homeland Security Investigations, which operates under the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (or ICE) carried out a criminal search warrant at Buckeye Fire Equipment Company in Kings Mountain on Wednesday, June 25.

Officials initially said that at least 16 people had been detained as part of the investigation. That number increased to 30 people by Thursday, June 26, an ICE spokesperson told Spectrum News.

ICE spokesperson Lindsay Williams also apparently said the number of arrests was expected to “increase as the investigation continues.”

Officials said the search warrant carried out on Wednesday was part of an investigation into alleged identity theft and other possible federal crimes at the Kings Mountain business. ICE spokesperson Williams, who held a press conference Wednesday afternoon, did not clarify whether any charges were being brought against those detained.

Kings Mountain police said on Wednesday, June 25, that they were assisting Homeland Security Investigations serve a federal criminal search warrant at a business on Kings Road. (Homeland Security Investigations Charlotte)

Williams did say that employees were still inside being questioned and processed as of around 6 p.m. on Wednesday. Several employees already went through the screening process and went home, officials said.

There were about 300 employees at the business when ICE arrives, officials said.

Authorities believed that someone, possibly the employer, used fraudulent documents to employ people who aren’t authorized to work in the U.S., Williams said.

The Kings Mountain Police Department said on Wednesday that they were helping Homeland Security Investigations serve a federal criminal search warrant at the business on Kings Road. Homeland Security Investigations, or HSI, operates under ICE — which is part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

The business, Buckeye Fire Equipment Company, is a fire protection equipment supplier that sells extinguishers, suppression systems, and more.

Kings Mountain police only said Wednesday that their role was “limited to addressing any potential state charges that may arise as part of the investigation.”

Several viewers reached out to WBTV about a potential federal raid at the Kings Mountain business. Photos and videos posted on social media appeared to show officers inside what looked to be a warehouse.

Homeland Security Investigations said Wednesday that there was no danger to the public.

A family member of the current leadership at Buckeye Fire Equipment Company was sentenced to federal prison for tax evasion in 2018. It was not immediately clear whether that situation was connected with Wednesday’s search warrant.

ICE activity in Charlotte region

Federal immigration officers have increased enforcement efforts around the Charlotte region, and around the nation, in recent months. Charlotte is home to a significant Latino community.

Last month, the Carolina Migrant Network reported that there was “unusually high levels of ICE activity” in the Charlotte area. The announcement made mid-May came after several ICE encounters were made public — including an ICE arrest near an elementary and middle school, and another arrest near the Mecklenburg County Courthouse.

Parents in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools district spoke out in May, calling the recent ICE arrests “deeply disturbing” to the students, saying the ICE presence near schools spreads “fear and confusion.”

—> Read more: ICE confrontation outside Charlotte school prompts immigrant rights conversation

According to the Carolina Migrant Network, ICE appeared then to be targeting people at “random” in the Charlotte area. Immigration agents also seemed to be focusing on detaining men specifically, officials said.

Click here to read more on that.

ICE enforcement increases across US

ICE has significantly ramped up efforts to detain and deport undocumented immigrants in the United States this year under President Trump’s push to deport millions of people without legal status.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has emphasized that Trump views all undocumented immigrants as criminals.

Some people do enter the U.S. without proper documentation at the country’s borders.

However, many people considered to be in the U.S. “illegally” are people who arrived with proper documentation, such as a visa, but overstayed their allotted time. These people are referred to by the government as “overstayers.”

Reports estimate that about 10.9 million undocumented people lived in the United States in 2022. It’s estimated that “42% of the approximately 11 million unauthorized population living in the United States entered the country legally but overstayed their period of admission,” a Congressional Research Service report from 2023 reads.

Cities across the country have seen an increase in ICE raids — some highly publicized — since Trump took office. The Trump administration has repeatedly urged undocumented immigrants to voluntarily leave the U.S.

According to Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of staff and main architect of Trump’s immigration policies: ICE officers were expected to target at least 3,000 arrests each day during the first five months of Trump’s second term. That’s up from about 650 arrests per day in the U.S.

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