Update (2:02 p.m.): Bear Creek Arsenal issued the following statement to the Rant regarding the arrests: “Today there were several employees of Bear Creek Arsenal who were detained by law enforcement. This is a result of an investigation conducted by Homeland Security into employment that was obtained by either ID theft or fraudulent information. Bear Creek Arsenal has cooperated with Homeland Security during this lengthy process. Homeland Security confirmed that our Human Resource Department had complied with all laws, rules, and regulations in our hiring practice.”
Update (1:39 p.m.): A Facebook post from Lee County Sheriff Tracy Carter says “approximately 30 people” were arrested today. The Rant reported earlier that 70 were detained, but did not provide a clear number arrested.
Agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested approximately 30 men and women for “identification theft and fraud” from Bear Creek Arsenal — a manufacturer of AR-15 firearms and firearm products — in Sanford this morning.
The incident has led to several Latino-owned businesses in Sanford closing their doors today.
According to the Raleigh-based online news site QuéPasa, ICE agents entered the Bear Creek facility, located at 310 McNeill Road in Sanford, at around 8 a.m. Tuesday morning. Sources told the Rant that at least 70 people were detained, though Lee County Sheriff Tracy Carter could not provide a number of people taken into custody [Carter later posted on Facebook the number arrested was closer to 30].
“There was an ICE raid on a local business today,” Carter told The Rant. “It was something ICE had been working on for a while. We did assist with the operation. We don’t know how many people were taken into custody.”
State troopers, federal agents and Lee County deputies could be seen pulling over cars along U.S. 1 near the Burns Drive exit as early as 7:30 a.m. Tuesday (Burns Drive is one of two entrance ways to Bear Creek Arsenal). Carter wanted to stress that this was not a “random search,” and said there were “extenuating circumstances concerning identification theft and fraud.”
“[ICE] didn’t just show up here and go to a random business and start rounding people up,” Carter said. “This was based on an investigation of this business and their hiring practices and the undocumented individuals who were working there.”
One local law office posted to Facebook the contact information for a number of immigration attorneys and urged anyone who had a family member detained to seek legal counsel.
Chatter on social media this morning suggested other industries and businesses received visits from ICE as well, but those reports have not been confirmed. Still, the Bear Creek arrests have had a domino effect — San Felipe, Aye Toro and El Molcajete Mexican restaurants were closed for lunch today (photo right), several car washes and other Latino-owned businesses have closed their doors. Some students at Lee County High School have reportedly checked out early today as well.
According to QuéPasa, workers at Bear Creek who couldn’t confirm their resident status were detained in the business’ break room.
“Many of our friends are there … they have sent us text messages where they tell us they are separating those who do not have papers,” Sergio Jiménez told Qué Pasa. The site released the below photo:
Christian Canales, an employee of Pentair in Sanford, posted a Facebook Live video at around 9:30 a.m. today after he unsuccessfully tried to pick up a friend from Bear Creek after word came down of the arrests. In his video, Canales shows his ID to agents in the parking lot at Bear Creek and is told he can leave the property. On his way out, Canales sees a white van that reads “Factory Outlet” on the side and suggests it’s an undercover ICE van.
Video below: (Warning … while The Rant did its best to bleep expletives in the video below, our Spanish is terrible … so those words got by)
“Let everyone know in Sanford,” Canales says at the end of the video. “[ICE] doesn’t give a —-. They do not care. How many people in Sanford I know worked right here? How many families are going to be split up? Thank you … this is ridiculous.”
My God…
Finally ICE getting to work. Hopefully they go to those restaurants next.
that is were mostly white people eat!!
Well they are close they wont be able to get their Texas fajitas today 😢😢😢
What part of the word “illegal” do you not understand? Break the law take your chances you knew that
Amen!!
I wonder how many meth heads will go apply to get off welfare 🤔🤔🤔
Stop giving them welfare and maybe they will! If you want more of something, subsidize it!
What took you so long, should had done this
Ok, what is si hard to understand, come here legally or get arrested. Why should this country ignore its’ own laws?
They let them out on bond, is all about $$$ later they allowed them to stay with a work permit of couse cost $$$ then become residents again more $$$.
Uh huh….and if they don’t meet their hearings? This is not money. This is fraud. This is identity theft. This is a security risk. What is to stop them from slipping a part into a pocket….and walking off with a gun….1 part at a time????
How about make it to where IF you come here illegally, you are banned from ever being a legal immigrant. And make coming here illegally a high felony.
they need to go to webb road flea market in salsibury, they get a ton of them there
To the dumb crackers in this comment section…go to hell, thanks.
To all the ILLEGALS in this comment section, GO HOME!!!
Break the law and steal someone’s identity, you get arrested. What is so hard to understand mad Mexican?
Are you a Mad Mexican American or just a Mad Mexican? I love how you people of Spanish origin who conquered, enslaved, raped and stole from the indigenous peoples now think you’re some type of victims. I know, I know you’ll come back w/ some type of answer how you’re part Indigenous so you’re ancestral scum ass murderer side doesn’t count. Clean up your own ancestral horror before you scream at other people about theirs. Maybe try and read a little bit of your own history, like all of it, not just the part where you somehow magically got rid of the very DNA you hate. You types are the worst of the lot, you still take from and abuse the people you think you somehow belong to and represent by using their lineage to push your agenda. Get a life, get a job, be honest, work hard, if you’re illegal go home and come back the right way, we will all like you then.
Hey dumbass, simple solution to the problem. Come to this country legally and become a citizen. If not, get the fuck out. We are tired of illegals reaping our country of its benefits to the tune of $150 billion a year. Continue to play the victim or grow a pair and be an adult.
I’m white and I agree. They are dumb. These are human beings trying to make a living like the rest of us. I wish no ill will on anyone and I hope you never know what it feels like to lose a family member or your way of life. People are going to lose their homes over this and their families.
Mad Mexican why in hell don’t you go to Mexico and spout off..You would spend a lot of time in Jail there.
Mad Mexican – You first, pal. Take your illegal buddies with you, and go feed off some other country’s hardworking taxpayers. Go home and fix things where you came from.
As for Laura – wait until one of these “fine people” steals your identity and your tax refunds, and then wrecks your credit. And then you spend the next 20 years trying to fix the situation, while they get arrested for OUI and default on a mortgage, and it’s all in YOUR NAME. If you think it won’t happen to you or someone you love, just wait a while.
Way to get racist, i have to pay/answer to the government…. why shouldnt legal and illegal imagrants
You first asshole!
Laura is an IDIOT!!! Come legally or don’t come at all. There are laws. Obey them. She’s just a WHINY LOSER BABY without a clue!
TO the Idiot making the video, they are not immigrants, they are illegals
Can’t fix retarded. 🤷♂️
I’m really glad this is happening.. Now… for the rest of the country….
What’s ridiculous is your people coming to our America illegally !
Our America. The land we stole from the Native Americans through genocide. Not a proud moment in man’s history.
Our America we pay into with goverment taxes and entitlements to support OUR CITIZENS. that word citizen means all the difference. Come legal or stay home. Period. These illegals are by definition criminals. Our America is based on our government. Only uneducated fools make claims that because it was native lands at one point our government is not sovereign. Also look at the Spainards that are coming from Mexico. This is a BS line about victimhood. The truth is if you come here it doesn’t matter color, nationality, or anything EXCEPT COME LEGAL!
Another idiot (named Dan this time) opens it’s piehole!! Quitcherbitchin you WHINY LOSER BABY!!!
Future Democrat Voters, AOC and here ilk will defend them saying they are trying to earn a living. The untold story is the SSN they steal and such and put legitimate people in the IRS crosshairs because now a citizen has a ton of undocumented income because Juan and Jose are using that persons identity.
My 80+ year old mother had over two years of stress dealing with stolen identity (including them getting credit cards in her name). Yes. Arrest the criminals.
And getting 10,000 tax refunds claiming children that aren’t even in this country!!
EXACTLY and people have no idea what it takes to get your stolen info fixed when they screw your credit but let those people move them into their home.
Families split up because they fucked up!
Bingo. They have nobody to blame but themselves. I have zero sympathy for the parents who put their own kids in these situations.
Well, who actually needs those weapons? NowICE is on NRA’s bad side.
Any of the people posting hurrah for ICE who isn’t employed? Those folks pay into SS but never collect. We need their labor
We need their labor about as much as we need idiots like you.
malarky, for years they have filed for and received tax returns and even claim dependants that live out of country!!!!! often receiving 6-10,000.00 returns from the irs!!
Good job, ICE! This is how you stop illegals from coming here, not a stupid wall. Fine the crap out of those businesses, too!
I was a Deportation Officer for over seven years. This is the way to get it done.
If we don’t build a wall…they will just keep coming back..steal identification and get a job…It starts all over again….we NEED that wall.
Great Job ICE! Now you need to hit all those food trucks during the week and the Flea Markets on Sat and Sun @ Harrington’s Marketplace..
The problem here is how many people think illegal immigration is a victimless crime. If all or even a majority of these individuals are using fraudulent documents to obtain work they’re more than likely not cleaned up by splicing together information and using other people’s social security number. This alone is hey victimized crime because now there is someone out there what’s the watch their credit reports and may have already had their credit record negatively impacted. This is known to destroy lives and ruined families.
Yup…..My wife is permanently disabled but some woman in Florida was using her SS number, and the IRS came after us for 9,000 in back taxes, We had to have them contact the SS admin to verify we lived in NC and My wife was disabled. It was a nightmare.
Illegal immigration costs us, the people who actually earned everything, $150 billion dollars a year.
Need to keep it up.
If they would have been legal there wouldn’t have been a problem.
They need to come to Chatham county.and clean it up
Good, sounds like somebody was getting paid off to keep that many working through Homeland security wow good job President Trump my VOTE will always be with you , you should just stay president forever so that way this country will straighten out
Now go check TYSON of shelbyville TN. Without notice.
*Shelbyville
Capitalized Tyson but didn’t capitalize Shelbyville.
What’s worse than ICE agent to an illegal? The grammAr police
Oh well…..dont break the law.
*don’t
First of all, educate yourself on the immigration legal process, and try to navigate thru it without mistakes. It’s hard to get thru the process without problems. 2nd, if your family member is being detained, seek legal advice. This will affect every family member . Believe me. The choices you make now are very important.
If your loved ones end up in McRae or Stewart, GA, and if they are deported, they most likely will. look for “El Refugio”
These are wonderful people and can offer some help in a terrible time and process
They need to be depirted! They didn’t just make mistakes! THEY STOLE PEOPLE’S IDENTITY!! they are CRIMINALS and should ALL be DEPORTED! If they loved their families then they wkuld have done it right!
If the place makes AR-15s, and the illegals were making them, wouldn’t some of them have been in possession of a firearm? Even holding a firearm or serialized lower receiver would be a federal felony good for 10 years.
“It’s no fun
Being an illegal alien”.
Now you know or at least you have an idea in Sanford who hire and support criminal illegal aliens. The restaurants….. if you eat there….STOP………the landscapers …..if you use them STOP…… the construction companies…. STOP. Use E- VERIFY certified only .This is a cancer that has been in Sanford for 20 years and across America.
Lol arrest all the illegals. Dont matter if your here a week for years. Criminals are criminals. See ya
*Don’t
*you’re
Sounds like the whole town has been infiltrated by illegals. Anybody employing them should get 25 years and forfeit all their assets. The illegals? Send them all right back where they came from, with their kids and their lunch boxes.
Yeah Moore County,an Randolph County same way,covered up with illegals. There is fines for employing them, but if they have stolen someones identity to get employed, then I don’t think the employer will be charged. If it comes out the employer knew they were ILLEGALS, the employer gets hefty fine,apparently the fine isn’t enough because they keep hiring the illegals.
Republicans want cheap labor. Democrats want cheap votes. Americans want cheap tomatoes.
Its quite simple if you are illegally in this country leave on your own or ICE will do it for yeah!
*you
Come over the right way and don’t steal someone identity that’s just so wrong,and then you want to get mad about it what’s up with that
Best news I’ve heard all day, throw the illegal scum out!! 😂😂😂
Yeah Ilegals making firearms and firearm parts…and you wonder how MS 13 and the cartels get their weapons?
I’m originally from North Carolina although I no longer live there. I’m guessing these workers are doing jobs many legal citizens do not which to do. Judging by the industry low prices of Bear Creek products, the workers are paid low wages.
Interesting that he states, “Do you know how many families that I ‘know’ that are going to be split up”…
That means that he KNOWS who is illegal there and who is not, and HAS known it for some time. THAT means he is complicit in the illegal behavior. He is therefore, a conspirator, and should be arrested as well.
Troy the fella taking video, was charged with driving without a license, and communicating threats to officers, the very next day
The blame lies with our Democrat Governor and Mayors. I’ve lived here all my life and just found out, we have several sanctuary cities in this State, housing over 500 child molesters, predator’s, and other criminals. They refused to hold them for 24 hours, for ICE officials, before releasing. Most ended up as repeat criminals and caused ICE wasted time to apprehend. Wake up people, get these damn Democrats out of our State.
Gov. Bathroom cooper releases this trash back into our neighborhoods, and communities https://www.theepochtimes.com/illegal-immigrants-drive-child-sex-crime-charges-in-north-carolina-2_3006558.html